No volunteers
by jayde.mackenziee
Summary: This story is a remodel of the Hunger games. Only instead of Peeta getting reaped its someone else. Also theres no volunteers so Primrose and her new male partner go into the games together. Its going to be all in Prim’s point of view so we get to explore her time in the arena.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! Welcome to my new story, in this story it'll be a bit mixed up, when I say that I mean Peeta doesn't get reaped, somebody else does. Also, there's no volunteers allowed this year. If you can't tell already, this won't be focused on Peeta and Katniss. But instead, it's focused on Prim and someone else! If you can't tell, this story will be in Prim's POV. If you see this please leave a review or even favourite/ follow my story. I will love you forever! I have a bad habit of sometimes writing small chapters but I'm trying to improve in this story. Everything that happens won't be just from the book or movie, I will make some stuff up! I can't wait to write more of this. Also, my authors notes shouldn't be this large all the time, it's only big this time as it's my very first one! If you read all this I applaud you, I know how annoying large authors notes are. Also, my spelling of things won't be American as I'm not from there, you'll understand later. Disclaimer: I don't own the hunger games, but I do own my phone!**

_' "welcome welcome welcome, to the 74th annual games! And may the odds be ever in your favour! As usual, ladies first." I watch as the lady- Effie I think her name is- walks over to the first bowl, full of the slips that contain the girls. She slowly places her hand in the bowl and quickly pulls a slip of paper out. She walks back over to the podium and opens it. She clears her throat and speaks._

_"Primrose Everdeen!" '_

I wake up screaming and shaking. I sit up and look at Buttercup, his golden eyes piercing at me. I wipe the tears off of my cheeks and allow Buttercup to curl up beside me. I look at my sister and she's still asleep, I won't wake her, she needs her beauty sleep. I sit up and swing my legs off of the side of the bed, and stand up. I slowly inch my way over to my mother, making sure I don't wake her or Katniss up, and plonk myself on her bed. She stirs a bit and looks up at me. She grabs the corner of her blanket and pulls it to the side, allowing me to lie down. She pats the empty space and I smile a little bit. I lie down and cuddle up next to her. She strokes my hair and looks at me.

"Bad dream?" She whispers in a soft, soothing voice. I nod my head and wipe another stray tear. Buttercup jumps onto the bed and sits at my knees, guarding me from the monsters that threaten to hurt me. My mother wraps her arms around me and looks at me. I sniff and wrap my arms around her too.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asks quietly. I shake my head. Talking about it won't help me, I still might have to relive that nightmare in a few hours. She nods her head and closes her eyes.

"Go to sleep Prim, your safe now. I promise everything will be okay. After the reaping we will all have a big feast with the Hawthorns and celebrate another year of safety. It's Rory's first year too, you'll both get through this, I promise. I love you." My mother whispers to me. I smile. I forgot Rory is also twelve, I keep thinking he is thirteen. Sometimes when both Gale and Katniss are out hunting in the woods, Rory and I hang out. I remember the first time we met, we were only eight. We instantly became friends. We used to always play in the meadow, making daisy chains or having running races. He was my bestfriend.

"I love you too." I whisper back. I roll over and close my eyes, allowing my memories of Rory and I hanging out. My favourite was the day of my tenth birthday. Vick was only eight years old, Posy being one. Katniss and Gale went hunting the night before so they could trade with the people in the hob for supplies for my birthday dinner. I was really excited so I went to visit Rory. We went out to the meadow and picked dandelions and other edible plants, hoping to be able to help our older siblings. Once we had enough we ran to the fence and waited. After an hour or so Katniss and Gale came and looked at us with shock.

"What are you guys doing?" Gale asked us curiously. Rory grinned and I giggled. We both handed them our buckets off stuck we collected and they smiled at us.

"You guys remembered that these were edible?" Katniss asked while smiling. I nodded my head. I love when my sister is proud of me.

"We are going to get some of the stuff now but most of it at the crack of dawn tomorrow." Gale said slowly. We nodded our heads with excitement. We watched as our siblings walked away, towards the hob. Rory looked at me and I looked back.

"I wonder what they are going to get you." He said enthusiastically. I grinned. That's what I wanted to know. I shrugged my shoulders. I suddenly got a great idea and I started smiling.

"Let's go to the bakery!" I squealed. I grabbed Rory's wrist and dragged him back into town. Sometimes it scared me with all thepeople around but they accepted me. Probably because I was Katniss's sister. The baker loved me, or at least liked me. He always bought the squirrels. I always saw his youngest son around town, Peeta I think his name is. I always catch him looking at Katniss, making me believe he has a huge crush on her. But I've never told my sister that, I found it funny when she didn't know everything. When we got to the bakery the scent of freshly cooked bread filled my nose, almost making me feel dizzy.

"I love coming here, it always smells so good." Rory said amazed. I grinned.

"Same." I said. We both remained at the window fantasising about all the delicious cakes and cookies. The next day, on the actual day of my birthday, I woke up and noticed Katniss wasn't home. I walked into the living room and my mother smiled at me.

"Happy birthday gorgeous girl." She said sweetly to me. I smiled and hugged her. The door flung open and Katniss and Gale walked in, with all their trades and food on their backs in backpacks. They bought a young goat home that was severely injured. My mouth dropped and I squealed, laughed and cried all at once. My mother cleared the table and Gale put the goat down. Mother immediately got to work, brewing herbal remedies and injecting medication into the goast infected skin. I was so excited that I felt the urge to help, my mother always said I'm a natural healer, so she let me help. One thing that caught my eye was the little pink ribbion that was tied around her neck. I smiled and flung my arms around both Katniss and Gale.

"Thank you." I squealed as I hugged them both. "Happy birthday little duck." Katniss whispered. I was so grateful that day, words can't even explain it.

My eyes flutter open and I look at the cream ceiling. I roll over and my mother is gone, probably went and got prepared early for the reaping. That's right, today's the day I've been dreading all my life. My heartbeat picks up stamina and I start shaking. I need to get my mind off things. Everyone morning of the reaping Katniss goes out into the woods and spends the morning with Gale, hunting and gathering meat and plants for a decent sized feast for dinner. My favourite is when they bring home strawberries with katniss roots and fish. If they get enough game they sometimes purchase cookies, but it's really rare.

The baker always buys the squirrels and gives them loaves of soft fluffy bread, his raisin and dried fruit bread is the best. I first tasted it on the day my family was boredline starving to death. My older sister went out trying to sell my baby clothes and ended up coming home with a loaf of freshly cooked bread, still warm and recently out of the oven. That was also the day our mother came back to us, she became depressed and shut the world out after our father died in a mine explosion. I was only seven, Katniss being eleven. Sometimes I wake up to my sister screaming, apparently from bad dreams that include our fathers death.

I jump out of bed and pick up Buttercup, carrying him with me into the kitchen. My mother sits at our ragged dinning table, sipping some kind of tea. Mint probably. I sit Buttercup down on the sofa and walk to the back door.

"Morning Prim." My mother says softly.

"Good morning." I say back. I open the door and it creaks as it swings open. I step outside into the soft dirt and make my way over to Lady. I watch as she chews the strands off grass that remain in her pen. I jump over the gate and walk over to her.

"Hello Lady." I say quietly while petting her. I grab the plastic bucket that got knocked over and walk into the little tin shed where we store all the animal food; grains and carrots mostly. I search through the grain trough and find the rusty scooper. I make a mental note to get Katniss to clean in later. I scoop up the grain and empty the contents into the bucket. I then continue to get the milk, sitting the grain in front of Lady, I start milking her. I do this nearly every morning, collecting milk for my mother to have later on if we have food, we normally do. Unless we run out and it's storming outside, or the fence is charged with electricity.

I look down and see the bucket completely full, I smile. It's enough to make cheese. I get off the stool and push it against the fence. Lady walks over to me with a mouthful of grain and nudges my arm, forcing me to pet her. I put my hand on her back and continuously drag it backwards and forwards across her soft fur. All my pets love me, although Buttercup hates Katniss. Well, when you think about it, he doesn't _hate _her, just has a major dislike. I stop petting her and I trudge through the dirt over towards the rusty fence, sadly I can't jump over it while I have a bucket of milk. It'll spill everywhere and then what will I do? With a bit of effort I kick the gate open, it swings open and creaks. I walk through and kick it shut again, hoping it closed properly. I amble as quick as I can into the house so I can give the milk to mother, I would much rather have the cheese done and wrapped up before Katniss wakes up.

"Want me to turn that into cheese?" My mother asks as she washes her cup in the sink. I nod my head and walk towards her, putting the bucket on the kitchen counter. I turn around and head towards a dinning chair, I like watching her make it even though I'm not entirely sure on what she does with it. She dries her hands gets one of her old pots, from when she was younger I think. She turns on the tap and fills it three quarters full with cold water.

"Can you heat the water up Prim?" She asks quietly. I nod my head and stand up. I take a few steps and grab the black pot off her. I think it used to be silver but after living in the seam, it has gathered quite a few layers off coal dust. Which reminds me, I need to clean the mirror in the bathroom, my father hated having the mirror dirty with all the dust sitting on it. Every morning before he headed to the mines he would clean it. Ever since her died I took up that chore, knowing it would make him happy. I go to the fire place that's still lit and place the pot on the stand that sits inside it, carefully so I don't burn myself. I sit in front of the fire and Buttercup joins me, enjoying both my company and the warmth.

After about ten minutes I put on the oven mitts and cautiously pull the pot off the burning fire. Buttercup jumps away and makes himself comfortable on the sofa behind me. I very slowly stand up, making sure I don't burn the floor by spilling the boiling hot water. I then proceed to walk over to the stove so I can place the pot on top. My mother smiles at me, so I return it. I go back to sitting on the dinning chair and watching my mother cook. She empty's the water into our expensive kettle, she got it from her family as a wedding gift or something. I was originally going to ask why she wanted the water heated up when she doesn't use it for the milk, she only needs the pot heated up. But obviously she wants to have hot tea or something later.

I watch as she gently pours the goats milk into the still hot pot and mixes it. She does other stuff that I don't understand but she does sprinkle in some herbs. I look at the old crocked clock hanging on the wall. It's still early, I should go back to sleep. I watch as my mother forms the shake of the newly made cheese; circles are always my favourite.

"You can wrap it up now." My mother says. I jump up or my chair and walk towards the cabinet that holds our food. I find three basil leaves and very carefully wrap them around the cheese. I look around and notice Buttercup eyeing off the food, probably not a good idea to leave the goats cheese laying around for anybody to take. I grab a jar and place the cheese inside it, then flipping it upside down. My mum looks at me and smiles.

"Go back to sleep Prim." She says softly.

"Come with me." I plead. She sighs and walks back into the bedroom, I follow close behind. I curl up beside my mother and cradle my head into the side of her neck, resting on her shoulder. I close my eyes and allow myself to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

———————————————————————

I feel myself slowly drifting into consciousness as I start to become aware of my surroundings. Thankfully, I had no more nightmares and I managed to get a few more hours of sleep, might as well sleep in anyways. I allow my eyelids to open and I get instantly blinded by the bright sunlight that's peeking through the windows. I blink a few times, trying to make my eyes focus. Buttercup crawls up beside me and looks at me with his piercing yellowish green eyes. My sister always insists they look like rotting squash. I scratch him behind the ears, causing me to get the soft purr I love.

"Good morning Buttercup." I whisper. I look around and see that Katniss is gone, probably gone hunting with Gale. I lazily swing my legs off the bed and stand up, with Buttercup standing beside me. I amble into the kitchen and smile as I see the cheese gone.

"There's warm water in the tub if you want to have a bath." I turn around and look at my mum, who is staring out the window. I wonder what she's looking at. Buttercup runs up to her and makes his way up to the windowsill. I smile as he jumps out and wonders his way towards Lady. I start walking towards our small bathroom and my mother calls out.

"I put your reaping clothes in there too!" She yells, making sure I hear her. No doubt I'll have my sister's first reaping outfit. You see, we don't have the money to go and buy tones of clothing or fabrics to design brand new outfits. We barely get by as it is. I pull my shirt over the top of my head and place it on the clothes hanger, along with my flannel pajama pants. I slowly lower myself in the warm water and sit down. I make sure to wash my self thoroughly, but also quickly as no doubt Katniss will also use this water. As I soak myself I can't help but worry about the reaping. I don't think it'll be me, there's only one slip in the bowl with my name on it. One in thousands.

But Katniss and Gale are who I'm worrying about. My sister has her name in twenty times as she takes tesserae for herself, our mother and I. I'm just hoping the worst thing that could possibly happen doesn't actually take place.

I stand up and step out of the tub, drying myself with an old towel which is slowly turning into a shredded rag. I turn around and my eyes lock in my reaping clothes. A white blouse with a grey-brown skirt. Katniss's first reaping outfit. I feel a smile tug at the corner of my lips, I love getting my sisters clothing as it makes me feel more confident. I pick the precious clothing up and throw it on- tucking the blouse in my skirt. Only there's a problem, it won't stay tucked at the back. I frown as I keep attempting to make it stay in place but failing. I sigh and walk out of the bathroom so my mother can braid my hair.

"You look beautiful Prim." I soft voice says. I turn around and smile at my mother. She always tries to make me feel better when I'm stressed, like right now. She walks over to me and I sit down on one of the dinning room chairs, petting Buttercup along the way. I hear the front door creak, causing me to look up. My sister walks in and places her game bag on the table while she empties out its contents. Fish, greens, strawberries and a loaf of fresh bread fall out and cover the table. The scent of the bread wafts into the air and my mouth waters.

"I managed to get all this for dinner tonight." Katniss says happily. Her eyes drift to me and she smiles.

"I'm going to go get ready." She says as she starts to walk off.

"There's a tub of warm water waiting for you!" Mum shouts quickly, making sure my sister hears. I watch her walk into the bathroom and close the door. I start to feel anxious, knowing that the reaping is in less than an hour. I could get reaped, or even worse, Katniss could. A lump appears to find its way into my throat and I try to swallow it down. I don't feel my mother pulling at my hair anymore.

"All done." She says. I blink a few times and turn my head around to face her. I try and hide the emotion on face and smile.

"Thank you." I say sweetly as I hop off the chair. Katniss walks into the room in her reaping outfit. It's one of my mother's merchant dresses, a soft blue one. I watch as mother starts to braid Katniss's hair, only she does one braid on her instead of two like she did with me.

"You look beautiful." I say quietly, almost like a whisper. Both of them turn around and look at me.

"And nothing like myself." Katniss says as she walks over to me.

"I wish I looked like you." I whisper barely, only loud enough for my sister to hear. She smiles softly and shakes her head.

"Oh no, I wish I looked like you, tuck your tail in little duck." She says, dragging out the end of 'you'. I giggle and make a quack sound, causing Katniss to laugh softly. One of the laughs I know nobody can get out of her.

"Quack yourself." She says lightly. The bells in the square start going off, letting everyone know it's time to go to the reaping. I start panicking again and my hands get sweaty, no matter how many times I wipe them on my skirt they seem to stay the same. Reality finally hits me properly. Katniss might get reaped to go die. She grabs hold of my hand and pulls me gently. I realise our mother is waiting outside for us. The square is only about five- ten minutes away from home so we will get there in no time. My feet continue to move forwards as we walk towards the town.

I watch as all the other families walk into the town square with their terrified children. Sometimes I say the occasional person who has no kids,but they have to go anyway. They'll most likely bet on the kids who will get reaped. It's sick really. I start worrying about Gale and Rory, what if they get reaped? I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Its Gale's last reaping and his names in a lot. He takes tessare for each member of his family just like Katniss. So they both have more than they should. Then there's Rory, he's just like me. First reaping, no tessare, name in once. Only he is obviously in the boys section while I'm in the girls.

I look up and see the town square, peacekeepers stand on top of buildings holding cameras. It adds to the eerie feel that surrounds the square. I let go off Katniss's hand as I get herded off towards the group of twelve year olds at the back. I see Rory in the crowd and I lock eye contact. I see panic and fear in his eyes but he still manages to smile and wave at me. I return the action and look towards the stage as I hear a microphone squeal.

The mayor stands on the stage as he waits for everyone's attention. When the clock strikes two he begins to make his speech, it's the same every year. He tells us about the history of Panem, the country that once rose from a place called North America. He lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires. The oceans that swallowed up so much of land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained. The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace. Our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games.

"It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks," the mayor finishes. He then reads the list of victors our district has gained over the last seventy-four years. We have two but only one is alive, Haymitch Abernathy. Suddenly he staggers on to the stage and collapses into the third chair. It's obvious he is drunk. Everyone starts clapping, causing him to become confused. He leans over and tries to give our escort, Effie Trinket, a hug. But she manages to push him off. I look up at the Mayor and he looks distressed. At the moment our district is probably the laughing stock of Panem. He quickly pulls the attention back to the reaping as he introduces Effie Trinket.

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be _ever _in your favour! Now as usual, ladies first! She crosses over to the bowl that has all the girls names in it while she tries to straighten her wig, which is off center. The crowd goes dead silent, to the point you could hear a pin drop. I start praying it's not Katniss. Please don't be Katniss. She walks back over to the podium and unfolds the piece of paper. She clears her throat and speaks. My heart drops completely. It's not Katniss. It's me.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: thanks for the reviews! I honestly thought nobody was going to read this story. I'm so happy to know I have readers! I've already planned a few things that will happen later on in the story and one of the deaths actually breaks my heart. Like I said previously, my authors notes won't be big, as you can see! disclaimer: I don't own the hunger games, but I do own my pet bunny!**

I stand completely still as I try and remember how to breathe. I look around and all my friends stare at me with miserable looks on their faces. This entire time I was worrying about my sister getting reaped that I completely forgot about myself. One in thousands. I was pretty much as safe as they could get, but it didn't matter. All of district twelve is dead silent, I swear I can still hear my name echoing through the town._ Primrose Everdeen. _I thought my nightmare wouldn't come true, but it has and I don't know what to do. I swallow the lump in my throat and try to have no emotion on my face. My feet start carrying me towards the front. I feel my blouse become untucked, causing me to keep hearing Katniss's voice in my head.

_Tuck your tail in little duck; quack yourself. _I slowly grab the fabric hanging out at the back and tuck it in my skirt. Everyone has made way for me, leaving a walkway in the middle of the girls. I keep walking until I reach the steps. I look at them hesitantly, knowing this may be the last time I step on this piece of gravel.

"Prim!" I turn around quickly and stare into my sisters eyes. She runs towards me but four peacekeeps jump in her way and hold her off.

"Sorry ma'am, this year there is no volunteers so you'll have to return back to your spot." One of the male peacekeepers says slowly. I feel the lump in my throat return. She was going to risk her life to save me. I keep looking at my sister as I watch her fight back tears. She simply nods and looks down at the ground as she walks back. My lip starts trembling as I start climbing the steps to hell. Effie Trinket races over to me and grabs my arm, helping me up the stairs. I get pulled over to the side of the podium and I stand still.

"Look at her. Look at this one! Aren't you a precious little thing." A voice says. I turn around and watch as Haymitch stumbles his way across the stage. He grabs my wrist and looks me up and down.

"Oh my your so fragile! I like you already."

"Unlike you! She's better than all of-" He shouts, pointing at the camera before taking a nose dive off stage and passing out. I struggle to fight back a grin. District twelve really is the laughing stock of Panem right now, but luckily I get a few seconds to relax while the cameras zoom in on my new mentor. Oh great, he's the one who makes a difference between my life or death. I swallow rather loudly, causing Effie to look at me with confusion in her eyes.

"What an exciting day! Let's have a round of applause for our female tribute, Primrose Everdeen!" Silence. Nobody claps for me at all, are they that disappointed that a twelve year old got reaped? Then I remember what Katniss told me. When something like this happens and it stays silent it means they don't agree, they do not condone, and all of this is wrong. Unexpectedly, one by one each member of the crowd touches the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to me. We don't really use this gesture in district twelve but I do know what it means. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means goodbye to somebody you love.

I knew people were fond of me, being my fathers daughter and Katniss's little sister, but I didn't know how far the love went. I search the crowd and lock eye contact with my sister. She shakes her head and mouths the words "I'm sorry." I smile at her, so she knows everything's okay, I'll be okay.

"There's more excitement to come! It's time to choose our male tribute!" Clearly trying to contain her hair, she plants one hand on her head as she crosses over to the other glass bowl, grabbing the first slip she looks at. _Please don't be Gale. _I don't have time to pray for anyone else when she's reading the name.

"Rory Hawthorne!" My shoulders sag and my heart begins to race. Rory. Out of everybody he was just like me, one in thousands, as safe as they could be. I didn't even think to worry about him, now there's two twelve year olds from district twelve. Everybody has most likely given up hope already, I have too. The youngest tribute to have ever won the hunger games was apparently fourteen, that's what I was told anyways. So do I even stand a chance? My attention turns to Rory as he walks up the steps. That's when I realise something, I'm a healer and he is following in Gale's footsteps, he knows how to makes snares and use a knife. I'll know what plants are edible and what can be used to help the wounded while he can hunt for meat and actually fight smaller tributes. If we work together maybe, just maybe one of us will make it home.

He stands on the other side of Effie while the national anthem begins to play. I slowly look through the crowd of teenage boys and manage to spot Gale. His face has completely drained all it's colour, I've honestly never seen him so white. His eyes move towards me and we stare at each other, a soft tear falling down his pale face. I swallow quite audibly and look away, facing towards the woods that Katniss goes into. I wonder how much of my absence will affect things at home. Will my mother go back to staring at a wall for days and days at a time?

The anthem comes to a stop, meaning it's time for our goodbyes. Something I'm definitely not ready for. Two peacekeeps march onto the stage and grab both mine and Rory's arms, pulling us along with them towards the inside of the justice building. The door slams shut behind us as we get directed to our rooms. I look around the hallway before I enter, this is the richest building I've ever been in. Certificates and paintings cover the walls along with a long list of the current oldest children in their family with no fathers. I exchange a nervous glance with Rory before I face the worst hour of my life.

I wrap my chilled fingers around the door knob and give it a good twist, opening it. I step inside and my breath catches. It's stunning. Old furniture fills the room, all made out of wood and fabric. My feet carry me towards a sofa that could fit two or three people. I lower myself down and run my fingers along the soft fabric; velvet I think it is. As I become aware of my surroundings the door opens, a peacekeeper telling me I have three minutes. I nod my head and watch as Katniss and my mother come inside. I don't hesitate as I jump up and throw myself into my sisters arms, holding on as tightly as I can. My sister rests her head on top of my braids and begins to mumble a bunch of words quickly.

"It'll be okay, you'll be okay. I'm sorry Prim, I'm really really sorry." I look up at my sister and watch as a few tears fall down her face, staining her skin red.

"Don't be sorry. Stay strong for me, I'll watch over you when I'm in heaven." My voice struggles to stay steady, even though I should be the one crying.

"No- you aren't leaving. You will win and come back home and I'll never leave you again. I promise Prim."

"Katniss I'm sorry. We all know I can't do this- I won't even make it past the first day-"

"Yes you will- stay with Rory and you guys will get further together, he has been learning how to hunt- you know how to heal." I look up and stare at my sister. How can she have so much faith in me when I have none myself? I turn around slowly and fling myself into my mothers arms. She plants a hand on top of my head and absently strokes the top of my hair. She starts making hush sounds which brings me to tears.

"We will be rooting for you from back home. Just promise me you'll try. Try and win for me and your sister." My mother says in a soft, but serious tone. I nod my head and release a sob that's been threatening to come out since I was reaped.

"My friend gave me something to give to you." I pull away from my mother and look at Katniss. She takes a step towards me and grabs my hand, slowly opening my fingers. A gold pin falls on to my fingers. I bring it up to my face and look at it curiously. Its circular with a little bird in the center holding an arrow in its mouth. The corner of my mouth tugs at my lips and I smile softly.

"Oh Katniss- it's beautiful." I say in a hushed voice, completely memorised by its beauty.

"It's a mockingjay pin, as long as you have it nothing bad will happen." She finishes as she pins it on to my ruffled blouse. I hug her one more time before the door swings open, signalling our time is over. I grip hold of my family's wrist and let out a nervous scream.

"No-no! Please can I have more time! Please can I have more time!" I scream at the peacekeeper who is taking my life away from me. Katniss and my mother keep telling me they love me and that I will survive. Tears stream down my face continuously as I hold them tightly. After a few tugs the peacekeeper manages to release my grip on them, closing the door as he pulls them out. I stand alone in a room that no longer has an effect on me as I stare at the door, allowing more tears to come. I spin around and collapse on the sofa, burying my head into one of the soft pillows.

The sound of a creaking door knob echoes through the room, making my head jerk up towards the direction. I watch as Gale steps into the room and walks towards me. I can't even imagine how hard this is for him, knowing his little brother and his best friends sister is going into an arena to fight to death. He gives me a sad smile and I stand up, hugging him tightly.

"I'll help Rory, if he gets wounded I'll heal him. I won't let him die." I whisper in Gale's ear. He pulls away and looks me dead in the eye.

"I have a plan." I raise an eyebrow at him as he smiles at me. A plan? What can he possibly do now? The reaping has already happened and he can't stop Rory and I from entering the arena.

"You and Rory need to some how twist the rules or do something unforgettable. Got it?" He barely whispers, only loudly enough for me to hear. I nod my head and allow myself to grin, I think I know what to do. The door swings open again and Gale gives me a quick hug before leaving me along again. I feel giddy with excitement, I will go home. Two peacekeepers walk in and grab my arms gently, shoving me forwards out of the room. One of them hands me a little white packet that looks like something from the bakery. I look up at them and one of them smiles.

"It's from the baker. He said he'll help Katniss and Gale by giving them a bit extra." I feel myself relax instantly. People are willing to help them for just in case they permanently lose me and Rory. Before I know it I'm getting forced inside a car that'll take us to the train station. Cameras and people are everywhere, almost making it hard to breathe. My eyes scan through the crowd and somehow I can't see anybody that I know. I look over at Rory and watch as he stares out the window, taking in everything district twelve has to offer.

"In a few minutes we will arrive at the train station where the cameras will get one last glimpse of you both before we head off to the Capitol. We should arrive later tonight or tomorrow, depending on delays. When we get there you will be on a tight schedule, having around a week for training and interviews before you enter the arena." I stare at Effie trying to take in what she just said, in a week I enter the ultimate death match? I'm really not prepared.

"Do you know who our stylist is?" Rory asks wholeheartedly. We both stare at our escort but she shakes her head.

"No. All I know is Haymitch is going to be your mentor and he probably won't help you both as your only twelve." I raise my eyebrows and blink a few times. She can't be serious. I know he is drunk and probably sick of losing both tributes every year but that certainly doesn't mean he can just abandon us. I look over at Rory and we stare at each other. While looking at me he opens his mouth.

"Excuse me? I'm sorry but are you telling us he will abandon us in the arena? Because if that's the case he doesn't know what he's in for. I've been learning how to use weapons and Prim is a natural healer. We actually stand a chance." I look at him with disbelief. I can already tell that Katniss and Gale won't be happy if they knew nobody is going to help us. Katniss. I wonder how she's feeling right now. She probably has no hope in me returning, same with my mother. That means they'll have to look after Lady and Buttercup by themselves- I didn't say goodbye to my pets. I turn my head and look out the window as I listen to Rory and Effie arguing about Haymitch I'm assuming. One day I'll see Buttercup again, it just may not be for a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi guys! I still haven't decided what day I'll guarantee to upload. But, it will be either Saturday or Sunday in eastern time. (Australia.) also when I uploaded chapter two for some reason it didn't properly update so I'm not sure if anybody saw it. And omg I'm so excited for next year! Have you heard the news? A new hunger games book is coming! I can't wait.**** I really hope Lionsgate makes the book into a movie. Also in this story there will be small flirtatious scenes between Prinrose and Rory. (Yes I'm rambling because no matter how hard I try I couldn't get my chapter up to 3k. I swear I wrote so much in half an hour but it still remaind at 2k) ****Disclaimer: I don't own the hunger games.**

The cart comes to a holt, causing me to jump a little. I lean forwards and look through the front window. A massive train sits ready for us, and when I say massive I mean it. I already know it has at least four bedrooms but I'm assuming there's more. Peacekeepers come up to our car and pull all of the doors open for us at the exact same time. One holds out a hand for me and I grip it tightly as I jump out. I get ushered towards Rory and Effie as I get one last look at my home town. Camera crews surround us and people are screaming and waving. I hold my three middle fingers on my left hand to my mouth and hold it out to the crowd, just like they did to me. The crowd goes ballistic as they return my salute. I take a deep breath and step into the train cart alongside the others.

The moment the door closes we instantly start moving. I turn on my heel and peer into the first cart and my breath catches. I stand completely frozen as I take in my new surroundings. So many cake stands surround the room, holding delicacies like slices, jellys, muffins, cakes. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling letting off a soft glow. Dark wooden tables fill the floor along with plenty of dark blue patterned chairs. I take a step inside the cart and my feet sync into the rug. I look over at Rory and he looks at me, with his jaw completely slack.

"It's beautiful-" I say quietly. Effie rushes ahead of us and sits down gracefully on one of the chairs.

"Sit down, sit down. Haymitch got to the train earlier on so he should come out later. But anyways, welcome to the Capital cuisine. In about a day we should arrive at the Capital itself where you will be rushed off towards the headquarters. You'll have the opening ceremony that night, then for the next few days will be training. Don't forgot the interviews before we head off into the arena!" She says quickly. I look at Rory and try not to laugh.

"We know Effie, you already told us." I say while giggling. She gasps and checks her schedule that she has been keeping by her side the entire time.

"Oh my your right! Sorry kids, I'm a bit stressed today, especially after the Haymitch incident. Talking about Haymitch I best go find him, he's probably in the bar car." I watch as she runs in a weird way out of the cart, guessing high heels effect the way you move. I relax a bit into the couch and absently stoke the armchair, enjoying the texture. My mind drifts back to home, I wonder if my sister has told Buttercup how I won't be returning. I hope she doesn't flip out and throw things at him as she breaks the news. A few months ago I had a bad dream similar to that. A war broke out between the districts and the Capital. President Snow despised district twelve and bombed the town. Then we fled to district thirteen and we got put in troops with other districts, my sister was in the star squad, the troop who filmed propaganda for the districts, I got sent to the Capital to help the wounded innocents.

After a while the rebels reached the inside of the Capital, out the front of President Snow's mansion. An announcement came over, asking for all the children to come forward. Peacekeepers fought their way through the crowd, grabbing all the children and pulling them towards the gates. The doctors, including me, were off to the side, ready to help any one who gets injured. Then out of no where a few aircrafts flew over and dropped out parachutes, just like the ones in the games, only they didn't have gifts, that had bombs. It blew up all the children and I, along with the everybody, Capital citizens and peacekeeprs included, raced towards the children. It was complete havoc. I started helping a child when I heard someone scream my name, I look up and lock eye contact with Katniss, that's when another round of bombs went off, I was standing with them, I died. When the war ended and Katniss went home she lost everything and when she told Buttercup I died she started sobbing uncontrollably, throwing cups and plates at him.

"This isn't as bad as I thought." I jump a bit from being startled and turn around in my chair and look directly into our mentors eyes. I grin a bit as I look at Rory, who looks just as shocked as I thought.

"Hi." I say politely while my best friend grins. Haymitch probably thinks we're both mental, I mean most tributes are probably terrified while here we both are acting like this is some big joke. I finally gain the courage to look back at our mentor and end up bursting into laughter as I look at the scowl that covers his face. It takes me a few minutes before I finally calm down, I'm really not taking this seriously. I look up and watch our mentor make his way towards the table. As he sits down he raises an eyebrow and makes a 'come over here' hand action. Rory and I stand up and slowly make our way to the chairs across from him.

"So, what's the plan?" Rory asks curiously.

"Plan?"

"Yes, your our mentor so we need to-"

"Wait wait, mentor?" I look over at Rory and watch as his face turns into a scowl. Is Haymitch really drunk or is he being serious? I hope it's the first.

"Yes, your out mentor so we need to know the plan."

"Oh. Umm, let's see. Stay alive." Haymitch bursts into laughter thinking he said the most hilarious thing ever, only it isn't. I turn my head and look at Rory who looks back. I shake my head and turn towards our mentor. That's when I realise something. A few minutes ago we weren't taking any of this seriously, so we were laughing when he was annoyed. Now I'm pretty sure he is just doing it back to us. I nod my head slightly, so the others don't see.

"Okay Haymitch, you win. We annoyed you and now you've annoyed us. But can you please help us? We're only twelve." I say as politely as possible. Our mentors face slowly turns into a grin as he nods his head.

"At least you figured it out sweetheart. Unlike your _friend _over there." I allow my lips to turn into a smile, I think Haymitch likes me already, which means he should help us. I wonder what would of happened if it was Katniss and Gale here right now. They probably would of flipped out at him or something like that. I can just imagine Gale threatening him whilest holding a knife to his throat. They would be a pair to be feared of. I go to ask a question but the door swings open and in walks Effie. I smile and wave at her. I hear voices so I look at Rory and realise he is arguing with Haymitch. I must of tuned out. Out of no where Rory picks up a knife and slams the end bit into the table, making it stick. The room drops silent apart from Effie's gasp.

"That is mahogany!" The three of us turn our heads and look at her, the boys with a scowl and me with a smile. What's mahogany? I'm guessing the wood type, I'm not sure though. I silently get up from my chair and walk over to one of the food tables, grabbing a small little jelly and popping it in my mouth. I get a burst of flavour from it which I'm pretty sure is lime. I grin and pick up a pink one, and getting the same reaction only with strawberry flavour instead of lime.

"These are really good!" I half squeal half mumble. Effie smiles sweetly and clasps her hands together. She gets up and walks towards me, her heels clicking against the floor. She picks up a purple one and plops it in her mouth.

"Purple's always been my favourite." She whispers to me. I giggle a bit and try one. I think it's grape. For the time being I completely forgot about Haymitch and Rory, looks like I'm good at distracting myself, which could be a good thing or a bad thing when it comes to the arena. Haymitch clears his throat and I turn around and look at him. He rests his elbows on the table and leans into his hands which causes Effie to purse her lips. He looks me up and down a few times before speaking.

"Well can you do anything?" I stand still debating whether he thinks I'm useless or if he wants to know what I can do. I think it's the later. That causes me to think. I can't kill animals because their way to precious. I can load a bow and shoot but I'm not accurate at all. I know some plants which are edible and what can be used for healing. But otherwise I'm useless. Oh and I'm good at hiding too.

"Um I'm good at healing. My mother owns the apothecary and I help with a lot of patients. I can hide and run, also I know a lot of plants that are edible and ones that aren't. Oh and I can sing." He raises an eyebrow at me and nods his head slightly. I can't tell if he is impressed or disappointed. He looks away from me and looks directly at Rory.

"What about you?" He asks dryly, obviously not caring about him at all. I mean, he did slam a knife into a table after all. A mahogany table.

"I can make snares, I can hunt with a knife, I can also tell the difference between edible and non-edible plants just like Prim, I can run pretty quick too." I watch as Haymitch stands up and makes Rory stand next to me. He circles us a bit before taking a huge sip out of his alcohol bottle. I look at Rory and shake my head. I smack it out of his hand and it shatters on the floor, the liquid running to the end of the cart. I freeze as I realise what I just did. I can't believe I did it.

"Stand still, completely still, both of you." He snaps. His pokes and prods at our bodies, seeing how much muscle we have, checking out weight and if we looks fit. He picks up one of my braids and runs it between his fingers before letting it go. He looks me dead in the eye which causes a shiver to go down my spine.

"Okay sweetheart. How about you don't interfere with my drinking and I'll stay sober enough to help you, the both of you." He says quietly but yet with a bit of volume in it. I nod my head and he stands back, going back to his seat.

"Go to your rooms. I don't want to look at you both any longer." I take off out of the cart with Rory following close behind. I slow down as we continue through the train.

"Well that was interesting." I turn around and look at Rory, a smile creeping it's way on to my face. This entire day I've barely spoken to him, and he is my best friend. I feel guilty. I sigh and laugh a little bit.

"You could say that again." A squealing sounds floods the cart and the train comes to a holt. I look at Rory and we both run back to the main cart. The door swings open, Effie is fussing over her schedule and Haymitch just takes another drink. I walk into the room despite how our mentor doesn't want to look at me.

"What's happened?" I ask curiously.

"Ran out of fuel, we are delayed for an hour. So we got to put up with Effie being like _that _for an entire hour." He says while making a circle motion at Effie. I sigh and fall on one of the chairs and start to stroke the arm rest like I have done previously. I start thinking of my friend, Lily. She never came to say goodbye to me, now I might not ever see her again. All our memories have pretty much been thrown down the drain. No more flower crown making, no more playing with stray animals, no more playing in the meadow. I'll miss her a lot, just not as much as Katniss and mum.

I remember when we went to the meadow with Lady, where we sat down in the long grass and started to pick dandelions and little sunflowers. We planned on having a little picnic so we also brought a red and white checked rug with a brown woven basket. Later that day we had a picnic with Katniss, Gale, Rory and her older brother, Presley. We gorged ourselves with dandelions, sunflower seeds, strawberries, bread and my famous goats cheese. That night on the walk home, Lady started chasing a blue butterfly, it took us half an hour to get her to stop.

"Prim?" I turn and look at Rory who looks upset. Also he spoke so quietly, I wonder what happened while I was lost in thought.

"What?"

"Oh nothing, just wanted to see if you were okay. You looked sad and zoned out." I smile softly and resist the urge to put my hand on top of his.

"I'm okay. Thank you though."

"You're welcome."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: thank you for the reviews! I appreciate each and every one of you. Honestly I didn't think I would gain readers every time I uploaded but it happened, which leaves me beyond words. Thank you! Now, I'm going to start putting hunger games quotes in my authors notes because why not? Quote of the week comes from Peeta! "Yes, and I'm sure the arena will be full of bags of flour for me to chuck at people."**

_'The gong sounds and I stand stranded on my pedestal, not knowing whether to go forwards, towards the cornucopia or backwards towards the forest behind me. My mind races as I watch all the other tributes run around the field. I take a step off my pedestal and continue to whip my head back and forth. Most tributes have reached the cornucopia already, so if I'm going to go it needs to be now. I look down and trace my finger around my pin, hoping for it to give my the answer. My eyes flit upwards and I watch as a mockingjay flies through the sky, going towards the woods on the other side of the cornucopia. There. That's my answer._

_I take off and run towards the bloodbath, I manage to pick up a loaf of bread and a small green backpack before I reach the centre. My eyes land on a medkit that's sitting next to a small dagger. I begin to run faster towards it, inching closer and closer towards my lifesaver. My fingers barely wrap around the handle before I get shoved to the ground. I grab the dagger from under me and hold it in front of my body, the point aiming towards my attacker. The boy from district two towers over me, clutching a quite lethal looking sword. His mouth turns up into a deadly grin before placing the tip on top of my heart. My breathing picks up as I stare at the sword resting on me._

_"Any last words little girl?" He asks in a low voice which sends a shiver through my entire body. I hold on to my knife tighter as I try to rack my brain for ideas of how to get out of this position alive. Before I know what I'm doing I throw my knife at his face, the tip wedging itself into his cheek. He stumbles backwards a bit and I jump up and run. I hear the wind whistling behind me and I turn around, my eyes going wide as I watch the dagger fly towards me. I look at the boy from two but my knife is still wedged in his face, but next to him is his district partner. I swallow loudly as the tip comes closer towards me. I quickly move to the side, only allowing the knife to dig into my arm. I scream in pain as my vision goes blurry.'_

I sit up gasping for air, thrashing around in my bed. I sit still as I take in my surroundings. I'm not in the arena, I'm on the train. I must of fallen asleep in the dinning cart when I was talking with Rory and someone probably carried me into my room. I look out the window and a soft glow peakes through the curtains, telling me it's early in the morning. How long was I asleep for? Last time I remember being awake it was mid afternoon. I sigh as I swing my legs off the side of the bed and hop up, throwing on the closest pieces of clothing to me, which happened to be a soft yellow and white summer dress.

I walk down the hallways and try to overcome the feeling of loneliness. Blank walls surround me and a dead silence threatens to suffocate me. It's to quiet for my liking. My feet pick up their pace, almost turning into a steady jog. I shove the door open and three pairs of eyes look at me. I roll my shoulders backwards and casually stroll over to the dinning chair that awaits me.

"Morning sweetheart. Had a nice sleep?" My mentor asks sarcastically. I roll my eyes and nod my head, picking up a bread roll before buttering it. The table falls silent and I feel as like somethings not right. I slowly lift my eyes and look at Effie who smiles at me softly. I raise my eyebrows at her, indicating that I want her to speak.

"We are going to arrive in the Capital in half an hour, you slept for over twelve hours."

My jaw drops slightly, over twelve hours? I missed so much! The train ride, the bickering, the information on our survival, seeing Rory. I look up at him and he gives me his knowing smile which makes me stomach churn with nerves and anticipation. I look down and allow myself to feel normal again before I speak.

"When we get to the Capital do we get sent straight to our stylist?"

"Yes dear."

I look at my empty plate and pile it up with fresh strawberries, grapes, slices of toast, eggs and bacon. I pop the delicious fruits into my mouth, making them burst with the sweet flavour that I love. I put the eggs and bacon on the toast and slowly bite into it, savouring the taste of meat. A lady dressed in white comes over pouring a liquid into cups. I look at the jug and watch the brown liquid sway in the bottle as she walks. She comes over to me and I nod my head, watching as she pours it into my glass.

I pick up the glass and move it in a small circle, the liquid spinning around while layering the sides of the cup. I take a whiff and my mouth waters, it smells heavenly. I take a sip and sigh, it tastes as good as it smells. A few years back my father brought home cups off coffee and hot chocolate, the coffee for my mother and the chocolate for Katniss and I. I only ever tasted it once, on that day. Along with an orange. But now I can have as many slices off the fruit as I want or have as much hot chocolate as I like.

I continue to drink my chocolate, making sure I drain the cup. I place the cup gently on the table and push myself away from the delicacies. I look up at the wall and the time shows seven fifty. In ten minutes I arrive at the Capital. My stomach starts churning, but differently to how Rory makes me feel. It's still nerves but of a different kind, this one makes me want to be sick. Or maybe it's because I ate more then I normally do in a week, either way I'm terrified.

"Do I need to bring anything?" I ask. Haymitch looks up at me and I can tell he is resisting a scowl. Obviously not a morning person at all.

"No dear." Effie replies sweetly. I go to relax in my chair but I feel as if I'm missing something special. I make a list in my head of all the things I need to take with me but I have everything, apart from one thing. I tap my foot absently against the floor to occupy myself while I overcome my fear and while I worry about the object. I look out the window and watch a flock of birds fly though the sky before we enter a tunnel. Darkness overcomes the train as we speed through the entrance of the Capital. That's when I remember it. My mockingjay pin.

I jump up off the chair and bolt through the carts, ignoring the voices that yell at me. I know I'm meant to stay in that cart as we pull into the station, that way Effie knows where I am. That way she can safely escort me off the train into the tribute headquarters. I shove the door open and lay my eyes on my golden pin. I swipe it into my hands and race to the mirror that sits about the dresser. I carefully pin it close to the top left corner of my dress and smile. I grab the hairbrush and quickly comb through my hair, getting rid of the knots I gained from sleep.

I race down the carts satisfied with my appearance. Just as I walk into the dinning cart light enters the train, blinding us all. My eyes adjust to the newly lit room and I race over to the window, along with Rory. Crowds have gathered around the station as our train comes to a stop. Over all the screaming I manage to catch a few words. 'A tribute train!' or 'an arrival!' seems to be what the conversations are all about. I look at Rory and smile. We lock eye contact and I instantly know that I must protect him in the arena. And to do that we need sponsors. I throw my hand in the air and wave to the crowds, slowly relaxing and becoming giddy with joy.

Rory joins me and we both wave ecstatically. I somehow manage to giggle as the cameras flash at us. All to soon Effie comes up behind us and makes sure we stick to her schedule. She puts a hand on my shoulder and one on Rory's as she guides us towards the door to leave the train. Haymitch follows close behind us. That's when I notice how formal he looks. Dressed up in a navy blue suit, white shirt underneath with a red tie. I've never seen him when he is both dressed up and sober. Normally he is one or the other, not both. A peacekeeper waits for us at the door and nods his head in courtesy before opening the door.

The screams become louder and I swear I'm about to go deaf. Effie escorts us through an area that is tapped off with a red fence line. Peacekeepers and camera crews surround us, getting our photos and keeping us safe from the ever growing crowd. Hands reach out at us as they try endlessly to grab hold of our hand or to simply touch us. My hands lay on my pin as I straighten it up, but of course it goes unnoticed. People point at my pin and cameras zoom up getting clear pictures of it. I quickly become self conscious.

Rory notices my discomfort and makes a move he probably thinks is reassuring. He grabs hold of my hand and squeezes it tightly, telling me not to worry. I enjoy the gesture but I also want to slap him in the face for being stupid. Now everyone is screaming louder, pointing to our joint hands. I try my best to not blush but I can feel heat rushing to my face quickly. I sense a body coming close behind Rory and I and they lay their hands on our shoulders. I look behind me and look into Haymitch's eyes. I become grateful that he is trying to protect us.

Effie makes a sharp turn and we walk into big open doors where peacekeepers and six other people await us. The doors slam shut behind us and everything falls silent. I look around and take in my surroundings but it's nothing like the train. It's a big empty room that has concrete as the floors and walls, giving off a cold feel. The six people trot towards us with massive smiles on their faces. They stand in front of us and I can tell they are resisting the urge to attack us with hugs and kisses.

"Prim, Rory, this is your prep team, you have three each." Haymitch informs us.

A young male with unnatural orange hair steps forward and introduces himself as Flavius, the one who is in charge off my hair. He shakes my hand quickly before trotting off to the side. Next a female comes up to me, introducing herself as Venia. She tells me how she is the one who will be fixing my eyebrows and waxing all the unnecessary hair off my body. As I look at her I can already tell she is the strongest out of everyone. Lastly a lady with pea green skin races up to me and kisses me cheek and embraces me. Her names Octavia and she does my nails. I can already tell I'm going to love my prep team.

The other three introduce themselves to Rory but I don't pay any attention. All six of them keep staring at Rory and I weirdly and over time I grow more and more self conscious, more than I was back out with the crowds. I follow their eyes and land on Rory and I's joint hands. I feel heat rush to my cheeks and I already know I'm blushing. Rory quickly realises this too because we both look at each other with alarm in our eyes, before releasing our grip on each other. My prep team blink a few times and they start to babble to me all at once, telling me about all the nail polish colours and the dress fabrics. Oh, they also gush about my stylist who I haven't met yet.

"Oh Primrose, he is _so _handsome."

"He's going to _absolutely _adore you!"

"I can already tell your outfit is going to be the very thing everyone will be talking about!"

After a few minutes I get whisked off to the Remake centre where I get all prettied up for my stylist. Effie and Haymitch left already to go talk to both of the stylists who will be in charge of mine and Rory's outfits. We approach a weird looking box that has metal sliding doors. Venia presses a button and the doors open. I look at Rory and we all walk inside, the doors closing softly behind us.

"What's this?" I blurt out.

"Oh darling! I forgot you wouldn't know. This is an elevator." Octavia answers in his weird Capital accent.

"What's it do?" Rory asks innocently.

"You'll see."

Flavius presses a button and it shoots us plummeting down through the ground. My jaw drops as I watch different floors come closer to us through the floor. Oh yes, the floor is glass. We come to a holt and the elevator pings, indicating we have reached our destination. The doors slide open and I step outside of it, walking into a room that has a soft blue glow to it. So many walls reach across the floor, all coming off one massive chunk of concrete. The walls make little rooms without a front wall. On the back of each section is a number with a letter. Each saying F or M. The first one says F1, which makes me assume it's for the district one female.

I get leaded to the other end of the room that awaits for Rory and I. I walk into my sector that says F12 and hop on to a small little bed, but without pillows and blankets, it only has sheets. I get ordered to lay down so they can begin the preparation process. This may be the longest few hours of my life.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Honestly I don't think anybody is reading this anymore which is quite sad, but things change over time I guess. But I'll continue writing for just in case I gain new readers! Which I managed to gain one. Anyways I really want to start doing the arena scences but sadly they're still quite a few chapters away. I can't wait! Quote of the weeks belongs to Haymitch! "You've got about as much charm as a dead slug."**

"Last one, you ready?"

I nod my head in reply and grip the side of the bed until my knuckles turn white and blue. Venia spreads the goo over the skin near my ankle and waits for it to set. My entire body tingles while I await for the last rip. She places her hand at the base of the wax and I hold my breath and clutch the bed tighter. In a quick movement she pulls it off like a bandaid and I struggle to resist the urge to scream. I release my breath in an audibly loud sigh and my body relaxes.

"You done great Prim! We've never had a young tribute that hasn't put up a fuss about everything we do." Flavius frenzied. I give him a small smile to show how grateful I am. I hop off the bed and Octavia hands me my robe before leading me out of my section. She babbles on about how my stylist is going to love me and how I'm going to make an impression at the opening ceremony.

"And here we are! Cinna will arrive in a few minutes to chat with you."

I smile and thank her before she ushers me inside the room. As I walk in the door shuts behind me, making me turn around. A sign hangs from the door giving me instructions on what to do while I wait for my stylist. I read them cautiously and do as it says. I hesitantly remove my robe and place in gently on the ground in front of me. I immediately get a chill against my naked body and I eye my robe off. I wish I could keep it on but that's obviously not going to happen. I find it weird how everyone was not telling me anything about my stylist but when Octavia brings me here she openly tells me their name. His name. I'm assuming.

The door opens and I stare into my stylists eyes. I was waiting for someone who is surgically altered who dresses in such an obscene manner. But he's normal. The only thing that's not natural is the gold eyeliner that streaks his dark skin, but brings out the gold speckles in his green eyes. He actually looks pretty good for a Capital person.

"Hello. I'm Cinna, your stylist. I'll be the one helping you to make a lasting impression on the gamemakers and the citizens." He introduces in a deep voice.

"Hello, I'm Primrose, but you can call me Prim." I say nervously. I become self conscious as I realise I'm standing completely naked in front of him. My arms start to tingle as they tell me to cross them over my chest. I tap my foot against the floor so distract me from my arms.

"Nice to meet you, Primrose. Do you want to put your robe on and go for a chat?"

I pick up my robe and throw it on as quick as I can. He smiles genuinely at me before leading me to another room. As we walk in my breath catches, the view is beautiful. Hundreds of colourful buildings stand tall in front of the tall mountains that surround the Capital. I can tell the colours are artificial. The yellows being painful to the eyes, the pinks too dark and the greens too bright. But I like colours, so either way it's still stunning.

Cinna gestures for me to sit down on one of the plush sofas that sit in the centre of the room. As I sit down I feel myself sink into the fabric and I fight a grin. I love Capital furniture. My stylist sits across from me and presses a button on the coffee table that seperates us. I look up at him and raise an eyebrow before being knocked back by the delicious scent of freshly made baked goods. I inhalf the smell and collapse further into the sofa. Katniss would love all this food, it's a shame she doesn't get to have some. I wrap my fingers around a cold glass of orange juice and take a sip.

"Why does it have ice?" I blurt out.

"To keep it cool. Do you not put ice in your drinks at home?"

"No, we don't really need too. We don't get fancy drinks often." I put the glass back on the table and dig into a bowl of rice that has orange chicken on top. My mouth waters as I eat it. My taste buds are screaming with the new luxurious foods that I get to eat. I would so eat this every day if I could.

"Of course you would." Cinna chuckles. I look at him and realise I must of said that out loud. Heat fills my cheeks and I look down, embarrassed. Once again I hear him chuckle at me. I shake my head and eat another spoonful of the orange chicken.

"So for the tribute parade it's my job to make you look fantastic. My job to make you look breathtaking." He starts. Most years the tributes from district twelve wear skimpy coal miner outfits or they're naked with dirt and coal dust covered all over them. Sometimes if they are lucky they get baggy clothes that are covered in dirt. I struggle to swallow the chicken that sits in my mouth and nod my head.

"My partner, Portia, and I have decided we are going to dress you both in complementary costumes," says Cinna. "As you know it's customary to reflect the flavour of the district."

"So I'll be in a coal miner's outfit?" I ask, praying that he says yes.

"Not exactly, you see Portia and I think the coal miner thing's very overdone. Nobody will remember you in that. And we both see it as our job to make you both look unforgettable."

_I'm definitely naked. _I mumble under my breath.

"So rather than focus on the coal mining itself, we're going to focus on the coal."

_Naked and covered in black dust. _I mumble again. He shakes his head and fights a smile.

"And what do we do with coal? We burn it," Cinna says slowly. " You're not afraid of fire, are you, Prim?" He sees my facial expression and allows himself to release the smile that he has been holding back.

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I stand in the middle of the elevator with Cinna by my side in complete silence. I'm dressed in a jet black jumpsuit that covers my body from my ankles all the way up to my neck. I have black lace up combat boats with my hair is in its usual two braids so the crowd has something to remember me by when I'm in the arena. My nails are coated in a black polish with little red, orange and gold diamantés.

"Are you nervous?" Cinna asks, finally breaking the silence.

"No." I lie. My hands fidget at my sides while I think about the upcoming days. I wonder how Rory feels about this entire 'fire' thing. I don't know about him but I know I'm terrified. I just got to hope that I won't be completely burnt and charred by the time I reach the city circle. What scares me the most is the fact I'll finally get to see my competition. Most of them are probably going to be double or even triple my size. My mind drifts back to home. It's been a day or two since I last saw my family, but it feels like forever.

The ping of the elevator is what brings me out of my thoughts and back to reality. Cinna leads me out and walks me towards our chariot that has black horses. He pulls out a black tiara and places it gently on top of my head and fixes it to make it straight.

"One last touch before the flames." He says enthusiastically. He dips his fingers into red and gold glitter before sprinkling it across my nose and under my eyes. He steps back and looks me up and down, before grinning, obviously meaning he is happy with his creation. My gaze drifts away and I focus on Rory and Portia who are walking towards us. Cinna follows my eyes and waves.

Rory is dressed in the same jumpsuit as I am only he has a crown on instead of a tiara. His hair is straightened and it falls over the left side of his head, with the right side being cut closely to the skin. That's when I realise he had a haircut. His usual messy hair no longer sits flat. _Right side basically shaved, left side falls over the left side of his head, ending at the bottom of his ear._ I tell myself. I've got to admit, I quite like his new hairstyle.

They finally reach us and Rory stands close by my side, I can tell he is itching to say something. Cinna and Portia start having a conversation about the whether and about our future costume choices. Rory leans over until he is close enough to my ear before he starts talking.

"Do you know about the fire?"

"Yes, I'm terrified." I whisper. I go to continue my sentence but get cut off by the announcement that booms through the city.

"_Tributes round up. Tributes round up." _

Rory and I exchange a nervous glance before allowing Cinna and Portia to help us on to the chariot. They both clip on the two capes they have been holding that have the same colours as the diamanté's on my finger nails. Portia lights the torches and smiles at us.

"It isn't real fire by the way, it's just synthetic. Something Cinna came up with." She informs us. I feel a bit relieved but I still don't trust that I'm not going to be charred by the time I finish.

"If you rip mine off I'll rip yours." Rory whispers to me. I nod my head and clutch on to the rail that's next to me. Our stylists both hop on the chariot and before we know it they are putting fire on the capes and lighting our crown and tiara with the same flame. I hold my breath as I wait for the burning sensation but am rewarded with nothing but the sweet sound of flickering flames. I giggle a bit and look at Rory. Our eyes lock and I'm instantly mesmerised by his grey eyes that look brighter due to the flames. I could easily get lost in them. In fact I think I already am.

"Good luck you two." Cinna says before jumping off the chariot with Portia. The horses start moving and I realise that all the other chariots are already out in the parade. As we pull out into view the crowd goes wild, screaming and pointing at us.

"The Capital where you can burn to death in safety." I mumble, managing to make Rory laugh. I quickly become overwhelmed with all the attention and without thinking I grab hold of Rory's hand. He looks at me with a sparkle in his eyes and I look away, catching myself being reflected off one of the mirrors. The flames make the blue in my eyes seem like they are glowing, in fact my whole body looks like it's glowing. I look stunning. A few people start cheering our names that they found in the pamphlet that holds the information about each tribute.

"_Primrose! Rory! District twelve!" _Is the only thing you can hear in the crowd. I can already tell the other tributes are no doubt jealous of our costumes. That thought makes me stand up straighter as I wave and smile to the crowd. People throw all sorts of flowers at us and I manage to catch a deep red rose, which I make sure to inhale the smell of before blowing a kiss in the general direction that it came from. Hundreds of hands reach into the air, attempting to capture my kiss as if it was a real object that you could hold.

The sun is setting quickly which makes our fire look even more brighter, making it awfully difficult to look away. We reach the city circle and do one full circle around it before coming to a holt in front of the building that stands in front of us. President Snow walks out on to a balcony that stands at least three stories high and taps his microphone a few times.

"Welcome! Tributes, we welcome you," The crowd erupts with shouts and clapping which lasts a few seconds before quieting down. "And we wish you, happy hunger games! And may the odds, be ever in your favour!"

The horses instantly start moving again while we do one last lap around the circle before being lead back to the room we all started in. The sun has officially set and the sky is dark with starts twinkling in the sky. Our flames still flicker and I even catch President Snow watching us along with everybody us. I look up at one of the screens and notice how we are getting much more screen time than we are meant to get. In fact the tributes shouldn't even be on the screen right now, but here we are, Rory and I filling the screens across Panem.

The camera moves down slightly and captures the image of our hands tangled together. I feel the heat rush to my cheeks instantly and in the corner of my eye I notice how horrified Rory looks. I turn my head and we lock eye contact, but none of us lets go. Thankfully we pull into the room and the big doors shut behind us, making the camera lose sight of us. I release his hand and massage my fingers until they get circulation flowing through them again.

Cinna, Portia, Haymitch and Effie walk over to us and applaud our performance, babbling on about how well we done. I look at Haymitch and notice how he has remainded awfully quiet, to the point it annoys me. I think he notices because he claps slowly, making the other shut up and stare at him.

"Well done sweetheart." He says while still clapping. I roll my eyes and look him dead in the eye.

"Are you sure you should be near an open flame?" I ask with confidence in my voice. I hear the others stifle a laugh and Cinna turns it into a cough.

"Are you sure you should-" he trails off as his eyes land on something behind us. Both Rory and I turn our heads and stare into a monstrous boy who I think is from district two. I turn around and Portia opens a can and sprays it on the flames, extinguishing them.

"Come on, lets go to our headquarters." Haymitch says while still looking at the boy from two. He grabs our wrists and leads us to the elevator in complete silence.


	6. Chapter6

**A/N: thanks for the reviews! I highly appreciate it. I've figured out that I will be uploading a new chapter every Sunday in eastern time, which is Saturday in America I'm pretty sure. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think! Also, I hope you enjoy how Rory slowly starts flirting with Prim near the end of the chapter. Don't mind this bit, I'm just going to babble until I reach the three thousand word mark on this chapter, oh look! I just reached it! :)**

**Quote of the week belongs to Katniss! ' "Your not leaving me here alone" I say. Because if he dies, I'll never go home, not really. I'll spend the rest of my life in this arena, trying to think my way out.'**

We all remain relatively silent as we go up towards our headquarters which I'm yet to see. I like this elevator better than the others because with this I can look down and watch everything shrink as we go upwards. The people who once were normal sized now look like little ants, which are soon turning into crumbs. Later on I might ask Effie if I can ride it again, no matter how childish it sounds.

The elevator comes to a holt and pings before opening. Rory and I exchange a nervous glance before looking ahead as the doors open. My breath catches as my eyes wonder around the headquarters. When I first saw the train I thought it couldn't get any better, but I was wrong. This. This is what luxury is. This is what everybody should live in. I can't believe it's my home for the next week. My feet carry me forwards as I run my hand gently down the navy blue wall. The colour scheme is so odd I love it. Blues, yellows and greens. I love yellow.

"Allow me to give you a tour of your bedrooms!" Effie says enthusiastically. I look at Rory and roll my eyes as he grins at me. I'll be honest, I don't know how long I can put up with her enthusiasm. I'm going into a death match, she shouldn't be so happy. She leads us to what seems to be my bedroom first. I push the door open and stand still in awe. My entire room is bigger than my house. I don't hear Rory and Effie leave but as I turn around they're gone. I shrug my shoulders and jump on to my double sized bed and instantly relax into the blue blankets. My hands stroke the fluffy material as my eyes lock on to another door. I walk over and open it, to find even more luxury.

I've never had my own bathroom before, and I've _never _had a shower. I strip out of my jumpsuit and place my tiara carefully on the vanity and untie my shoelaces before putting them by the door. I don't bother with my braids as I know I'll probably have my hair redone tomorrow. I step into the shower and get a lovely surprise. There's about one hundred different buttons on the wall which all give a new soap of temperature. I scan the wall and press one that says it'll give me warm water. Then a few buttons light up, telling me to choose the pressure. I decide on gentle.

Warm water starts spraying down on me and I tilt my head downwards, enjoying the feeling off the water running down my bare back. It reminds me of summer rain. I press a button that says vanilla and before I know it I'm getting sprayed with a vanilla scented soap.

I hop out of the shower feeling refreshed and glitter-free. I wrap one of the white towels that's the colour of snow around my body as I step into the bedroom. I rummage through my dresser and find a soft gray t-shirt with a white skirt. I slide them all on and head off down the hallway to the dinning room. I find Effie, Haymitch, Rory and both stylists waiting for me at the table. They notice me and wave me over with smiles on their faces. I sit down next to Rory and I'm immediately rewarded a plate full of meat, pasta and vegetables. Haymitch warily eyes me off with a look that tells me he has something to say.

"I can multitask you know, I can listen to you while I eat"

"Well you guys both start training tomorrow and I want you guys to stick together, maybe try and make allies if you can. I also want you to steer clear of the stations your good at. Prim, stay away from the edible plants and the healing stations. Maybe learn how to shoot a bow or throw a knife. Rory, stay away from traps and knives, unless your really bad at throwing them, then be my guest and stay there as long as you like. And just like Prim, stay away from the edible plants section."

I nod my head and fear the thought of learning how to throw a knife. What if I accidentally stab myself with it? I don't want to have an immediate disadvantage in the arena, also I don't want to be laughed at if I can't throw it properly. A young girl dressed in a white tunic tops up everybody's cups with a weird red liquid. She reaches me and allow her to pour some in. I look up at her to say thanks but stop as I see her face.

"Hey, I've heard about you! I'm pretty sure my sister tried to help you." I blurt out. Fear crosses her face and she shakes her head, before rushing off to the other side of the room where more young people in white tunics stand.

"Don't be silly, Prim. Your sister couldn't possibly know an avox." Effie snaps at me. I get taken back by how aggressive she sounded.

"What's an avox?" I ask stupidly.

"An avox is someone who committed a crime and got their tongues cut out by the Capital." Haymitch says bluntly while draining his cup of red liquid. I nod my head once again and take a sip of my drink which happens to be wine. I've never had wine before and I'm probably too young to have it anyways. But here in the Capital, it seems all luxury is available to anybody of any age. I get down to half way before my head starts to feel foggy, so I end up switching to water. If this is what Haymitch feels like twenty-four seven then I applaud him. I can barely handle it now and it's only been a few minutes.

"Lily."

We all look at Rory with pure confusion while I get that sad feeling again, reminded that I might never see her again.

"Lily is a girl from our school. She looks just like the avox lady." I raise an eyebrow at him and he sightly shakes his head. I'm guessing he wants me to play along, so I do.

"Oh, yeah. That's who I was thinking of. My sister tried to helped a girl once that looks just like her." I say quickly. The adults at the table huff a breath of relief and start chatting about how _wonderful _we done at the tribute parade. I glance at Rory who unfortunately notices and gives me a look which tells me I better explain later. Which confuses me, I assumed Gale would of told him about the girl in the forest. Apparently there was a young boy too, probably her brother. He got a spear thrown at him from a hovercraft and died on the spot.

One of the avoxs walks over with a two tier cake with a lot of candles along the board and the cake edges itself. Normally the candles don't go on the cake because they can melt the icing. But then again, fire doesn't normally go on people and they still set Rory and I on flames and we came away unharmed. The avox sits the cake on the table and Cinna lights all the candles, making the room glow with flickering lights. I smile as I watch the flames dance before eventually dying out.

"What makes it burn?" Rory asks curiously.

"Alcohol. But the alcohol dissolves with the flame." Rory's stylist, Portia, informs. Haymitch grabs a lethal looking knife and chops the cake into slices and giving us each two big pieces.

"I ordered this cake because of your fiery debut at the parade. You both done fantastic." Cinna says while putting a spoonful of the cake in his mouth. I smile gratefully at him before allowing myself to dig into the cake. The adults start to chat again about the ceremony and also training which begins tomorrow. I hope the monstrous boy from district two doesn't give us a hard time. Also I think I saw a young girl from district eleven which I would like to get to know. I finish up my cake at the same time as Rory and I relax in my chair.

"How about you two go to bed and allow us adults to chat." Haymitch orders us. We obey and stand up, saying our good nights to everyone before walking down the hallway together. I find out that Rory's room is directly across from mine. At least I know where he is if I need to find him. I open my door and he leans against my door frame, allowing space for me to walk in if I want to, but he obviously wants my attention. He sighs and gently bangs his head against the frame and looks at me.

"So, Lily Kimble. Imagine finding her look a like." Rory says. Honestly, he's right. Lily is quite unique with her long brown hair and bright blue eyes with fair skin. A complete mix of both merchant and seam. She looks nothing like the avox. It would be like comparing an apple to a carrot. I look like a complete merchant child only I live in the seam, so I always look so out of place.

"Yeah, it would be interesting." I scoff. I try and not focus on how close we are right now. Him leaning against my door frame which I'm just standing in front of. There's probably no more than fifty centimetres between us.

"Have you been up on the roof yet? Cinna showed me it early." Rory asks. I take that as a 'nobody can hear us up there' hint. I shake my head and he grabs my hand, pulling me towards the stair case. We run up the stairs and Rory opens the door for me, allowing me to walk outside first. I am immediately thrown backwards slightly by a chilly blast of wind. I fall into Rory and almost knock him over, but he manages to stay standing by wrapping his arms around my waist. I shiver due to the cold and Rory lets go of me, spinning me around so I'm facing him.

"Are you cold?" He asks with a sweet blush staining his cheeks. I nod my head slightly and he wraps his jacket around my shoulders. I smile at him before walking over to the edge of the roof and lean against the railing.

"Why do they let us up here? I mean, don't they fear that us tributes from twelve will try and jump?" I ask curiously. Rory comes up next to me and leans against the railing, having his hand only inches away from mine. He chuckles a bit at my curiosity and shakes his head.

"I asked that before you know. Apparently there's a force field or something a few centimetres away from our hands. If you try to jump it just throws you back on the roof." He says while inching his hand closer to mine. I resist the urge to look down at our fingers that are almost touching. I lean down and pick up a small pebble and throw it over the edge. It comes flying back at us and hits Rory directly in the nose. I claps a hand over my mouth and giggle as I watch him rub his nose.

"Ow." He chuckles. I sit on the floor and continue laughing until I can't breathe anymore.

"Let's go to the garden. It's really windy there." Rory says. He offers me a hand and I clasp it, allowing him to pull me on to my feet. He doesn't let go as he pulls me over to the garden, so I keep clasping it. As we reach the garden, Rory picks a small yellow flower and shows me it.

"Primrose." I say while looking at it. He looks at me and the moonlight reflects off his grey eyes. I look back at him, allowing for blue to meet grey. He tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear while he places the flower gently next to my face, folding another loose strand around it so it stays behind my ear. I smile at him and pretend to play with a rose.

"Katniss told me that her and Gale were out hunting in the woods," I say in a hushed voice. "then all the birds stopped chirping and one let out a warning call. Out of nowhere a hovercraft came into their view, but so did two people. A young girl and boy, both having red hair, they looked like they were siblings. Katniss and the girl locked eye contact and the girl was about to yell for help, but the boy-her brother, got a spear thrown at him from the hovercraft, and they lodged him up into the craft with a rope that was wrapped around the spear. A net dropped down and captured the girl, they lifted her up and the craft took off. All the birds continued singing like nothing ever happened." I finish with a stray tear falling down my cheek.

Rory looks at me with pure horror and sadness before gathering me into an embrace. His hand rub against my back and I dig my head into his shirt, clutching it for dear life. I hate when people die or get hurt, especially when it could of been avoided. I wasn't even their at the time but hearing about it still brings tears to my eyes.

"Lets go back inside." Rory whispers. I nod my head and pull away from him, taking his hand before leading us back down the stairs. We continue walking until we reach our bedroom doors, where he drops my hand.

"Goodnight Rory."

He leans over and kisses me gently on the cheek.

"Goodnight Prim."


	7. Chapter7

**A/N: Thank you again for the reviews! And I just want to let you guys know I write on my phone, and sometimes check my reviews and views on my pc. Last night I found some PM's and I'm sorry for not answering them, as I don't normally see them on my phone. Also, the layout on the pc confuses me which is why I use my phone! Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll see you again next week! *Sorry for the shorter chapter, none of it saved so I had to restart and I completely ran out of time.*Quote of the week belongs to Plutarch! ' "We had to save you because your the mockingjay, Katniss," says Plutarch. "While you live, the revolution lives." '**

"Up,up,up! It's going to be a big, big, big day!" Effie shouts while repeatedly knocking on my door. I groan and roll over until I fall on the floor. I'm guessing she heard me because I can hear her heels clicking down the hallway. I drag myself off of the floor and amble my way over to my dresser, grabbing black pants and a grey shirt. As I throw them on my mind wanders back home. I wonder what my family is doing right now; my mother and sister. I wonder if they are both taking care of Lady and Buttercup, I know how much Katniss hates Buttercup.

I walk down the hallway and when I enter the dinning room three sets of eyes stare at me. I wave at them before taking my seat next to Rory. The red headed avox girl walks over and serves me a bowl of brown grain with a side of oranges and bread. I get up and take my cup over to the drink table and pour myself a cup of that delicious creamy hot chocolate that I thoroughly enjoyed the other day. As I sit down I notice how everybody is nearly finished their food and they are all staring at me. Still.

"What?" I ask with a bit more attitude then I intended on using.

"Can you hurry up a bit, sweetheart. You have training today and your prep team argued with me about how they want to get you ready," Haymitch says slowly. "As you can see, Rory is already dressed in the training outfit because he actually got up early."

"Sorry," I say genuinely. "Did Rory's prep team get him ready?"

"Only once they found out that Cinna and his crew are doing your hair and outfit."

"Oh okay."

As we finish our conversation I see my prep team usher inside babbling on about god knows what. Venia comes over and grabs my hand, dragging me out of my chair and pulls me towards my room. I look over my shoulder at Haymitch and throw a dagger at him, rewarding myself with a grin and chuckle that he gives me. Normally they do their magic in a different room, a room that's not even in the district twelve headquarters. But obviously they have to get me ready here. Octavia opens the door, allowing for Venia to pull me inside. I hear the door click and Flavius empty's his bag on the floor.

"Sit down, sit down!" Octavia pipes. I sit on the bed and Venia finally releases her grip on my wrist, leaving a decent red mark. All three of them look at my wrist with wide eyes before jumping into a full blown argument. They all start yelling and screaming at each other, pointing at my wrist and throwing their hands in the air. I can hear someone walking at a quick pace down the hallway and the door swings open.

"What's going on?" Cinna asks loudly, making the trio go dead silent. All at once they all start trying to explain everything to him, but you can't understand a word they're trying to say. I rest my elbows in my knees and facepalm. Cinna looks at me and raises his eyebrows and I shake my head at him. I pick up a shoe and throw it at a wall. They all go silent again and look at me, then the wall, then the shoe before looking at me again.

"Sorry." I say quickly. I didn't mean to throw it, I guess everything is building up and overtaking my thoughts. Like it did with Rory, only at least I didn't almost cut someone's finger off with a knife. I stand up and retrieve the shoe before putting it on top of the small pile of clothes that Flavius emptied.

"I'll go get dressed." I say while picking up the clothes and racing to the bathroom, closing the door gently behind me. I slide down the closed door and rest my head in my hands. I don't know if I can keep putting up with all the yelling they are doing. Surprisingly, I would much rather be in the arena than having to put up with it. I unfold the clothing and slip them on. Black pants with sturdy black boots, a black t-shirt with red and grey on the sleeves. I lace my boots and stand in front of the mirror. I wonder where I put my mockingjay pin. I open the door and walk back into my room, finding only Cinna standing there, no prep team.

"I found your pin on one of the shirts, do you want to wear it to training?" He asks. I nod my head and walk over to him, allowing him to pin it to my shirt.

"I love mockingjays you know. Such interesting birds aren't they?" He continues.

"Yeah, my sister can always make them go silent when she sings. My father used to be able to do that as well." I say.

"Used to?"

I feel tears spring into my eyes and my throat feels tight. "Before he died." I whisper softly. I see sadness fill Cinna's eyes as he brings me into a hug. He pulls away after a minute and puts my hair in two braids in complete silence. I feel like something is wrong, that he actually is sad. I feel him finish the second braid and I turn and look at him.

"Are you okay?" I ask softly. He gives me a small smile before flicking my braid.

"My father died too. He was an old stylist but the president executed him."

"What did he do?" I ask curiously. Once I say it I realise it's probably personal.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that." I backpedal. Cinna gives me another one of his small smiles and shakes his head. He places a hand on my shoulder and looks me dead in the eye.

"His tribute done something that the game makers and the president didn't approve of. He made them the laughing stock of Panem. So President Snow killed the tributes family and prep team, including my father." He explains quietly, probably trying not to relive the moment he found out. He always looks like he is okay. I wouldn't say he looks happy all the time, but he never shows any sadness or anything negative.

"You never look sad though." I blurt out, immediately feeling ashamed of myself. I resist the urge to apologise again, I know he will be sick of me being sorry all the time.

"I always channel my emotions into my work, that way I don't hurt anyone but myself." He replies softly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

———————————————————————

I stand in the elevator with Rory and Effie as it takes us to the bottom of the headquarters, down to the training centre. My mind keeps wondering what Cinna meant when he says he channels his emotions into his work. My opening ceremony outfit was amazing. I was on fire and dressed in complete black. Is that his emotion? Wanting to set fire to something. Maybe it is, maybe he wants to set fire to President Snow.

The elevator pings open and Effie ushers us forwards, reminding us to stay away from the stations we know we are good at. We walk over to join the circle that all the tributes are forming. Even though we are early we are the last to arrive. A lady that stands in the centre starts giving us all a speech. She introduces her self as Atala, the head trainer in the games.

"In two weeks, twenty-three of us will be dead. Only one of us will be alive. Who that is depends on how well you pay attention over the next four days, particularly to what I'm about to say. First, no fighting with the other tributes. You'll have plenty of time for that in the arena. There are four compulsory exercises, and the rest will be individual training. My advice is don't ignore the survival skills. Everybody wants to grab a sword, but most of you will die from natural causes. Ten percent from infection, twenty percent from dehydration. Exposure can kill as easily as a knife."

Everyone sets off to the stations they want to do the most, careers grabbing hold of the most deadly weapons they possibly can, throwing them across the gym or slashing the heads off the practice dummies. To be honest, it's quite frightening. Rory comes up next to me and places a hand on my shoulder before sighing.

"So what do you want to do?" He asks boredly.

"Lets go throw knives at the other tributes." I say sarcastically. He scoffs at me and shakes his head.

"Seriously though, what do you want to do?" He asks while chuckling.

"Want to go learn how to start fires?" I suggest. He nods his head and we make our way over to the fire station. The trainer that has been assigned smiles and waves at us when he sees us coming towards him. He shows us a lot of different ways to start fires out of different materials. Matches, rocks, wood. Rory is really good at it, with a bit of practice I think I'll be a pro soon.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Welcome to chapter eight! Sorry if the chapter seems a bit rushed, I got way too distracted playing sims and reading fan fictions and Catching Fire this week. Also, for some reason it won't allow me to add specs in the chapter titles which is quite annoying. Anybody know how to fix it? Anyways, leave reviews like always! Love you guys and see you next week! Quote / conversation of the week belongs to Finnick and Katniss! **

**'Really, the combination of the scabs and the ointment looks hideous. I can't help enjoying his distress.**

**"Poor Finnick. Is this the first time in your life you haven't looked pretty?" I say.**

**"It must be. The sensation's completely new. How have you managed it all these years?" He asks.**

**"Just avoid mirrors. You'll forget about it," I say.**

**"Not if I keep looking at you," He says. '**

I walk into the training centre with Rory by my side for the second time this week. Surprisingly, yesterday was actually pretty fun. Learning how to build fires and how to dodge attacks was one of the best things I've ever done, and I lucky had Rory with me the entire time. Over the past few days where we have been in the Capital or on the train ride here, we are becoming really close. Almost in separable. Which is a good and a bad thing. Good because I finally get to have a close friend that is with me all the time apart from my sister, I get to build up the strong friendship we used to have. But, that's the bad things. We are heading into an ultimate death match where only one comes out. I can't get too attached to Rory, even though I already am.

But the problem is, there's something about this boy that I can't get over. Something that makes me feel like I need to protect him at all costs. Something that makes me feel like I need to do anything for him, even if it costs my life. And honestly, it scares me. But, I do have hope. I always think about what Gale said to me at the goodbyes. He told me to twist the rules, make the two of us come home. I want to do that, I want Rory and I to both go back to district twelve. But I don't know how.

I get pulled out of my train of thoughts by a young girl who looks no older than I am. One look at her makes me instantly re-think my whole plan. This girl needs to go home too.

"Hi," she says.

"Hello,"

"I like your pin," she says while pointing at it. "Mockingjays are my favourite, some of them are my special friends. We talk back and forth for hours."

"Oh wow! I haven't seen a real mockingjay before, my sister gave me this pin." I say.

"Your sister must be nice. I'm Rue."

"Primrose, but everyone calls me Prim."

I feel someone watching us and I look over to see Rory still standing next to me. I feel guilty that I forgot he was there. Oops. I start to giggle a bit and Rue smiles. He just keeps looking at us like something is terribly wrong.

"What?" I chuckle. He shakes his head and smiles.

"Nothing," He looks at Rue and smiles. "I'm Rory, by the way."

"Are you guys friends?" She asks him. He looks at me and smiles softly.

"Yes, we have been for years."

The three of us walk around the training centre talking and laughing with each other, ignoring the stares from the gamemakers and the other tributes. I do notice another young male at one stage but he is a career so none of us bother to go talk to him. Quite a few times I look over and see the monstrous boy from district two staring at me with a snarly look. I wonder what his problem is. We share information with each other like how to set snares, climb trees and use nature as medicine.

There's still the question that lays in the air, but none of us have asked it yet. I'm actually afraid it's going to stay that way, and I can tell Rory feels the same. I look at him and he nods his head slightly, giving me his permission to ask.

"Hey Rue, I was wondering if you would like to be allies with us?" I ask with worry in my voice. Her face lights up and allows a huge smile to cross her face.

"You want to be allies with me?" She asks, still unsure if she heard me right. Both Rory and I nod our heads. She quickly hugs both of us and nods her head quickly. We all smile and head over to archery. Maybe life in the arena won't be to bad. After all I have two friends with me now.

———————————————————————

The past few days of training has flown by so quickly. I've got a chance to do every station apart from the plants section and medicines, as I have followed my mentors instructions. Today is the last day of training, where we have our private sessions with the gamemakers.

I roll out of bed and throw on the outfit I've had to wear over the past few days, I also put my mockingjay pin on as well. To be honest I'm sick of wearing this outfit. Same thing every day. At least I don't have to wear it again after today. Tomorrow we have the interviews in front of all of Panem, then the day after is when the actual games begin. I'm really nervous.

I walk down the hallway and into the dinning room. Haymitch motions for me to sit and I realise Rory isn't in the room. I sit down in my usual chair and I'm immediately served a massive plater of fruits, breads and meats.

"Where's Rory?" I ask curiously. Cinna shoots me a look which I can't quite tell what it's meant to mean.

"He's in his room. Now tomorrow is the last day where they let us work with our own tributes. You'll have four hours with me and four hours with Effie so we can prepare you for your interview. You and I are going down at nine." Haymitch informs me while spreading marmalade on his toast.

"What about Rory?" I ask.

"Rory's asked to be coached seperately from now on."

Betrayal. Betrayal is the first thing I feel. For there to be betrayal there must be trust. I trusted him. I thought we were building our friendship back up, I thought he was going to help me. But obviously not. And now I have to see him when we are waiting for our private sessions. He better not try to speak to me. I don't want to hear anything he has to say, he betrayed me.

"Why would he do that?" I ask softly.

"Things like this do happen at this point. I mean, there's only one winner, right?"

———————————————————————

I stand silently in the elevator with Rory. I'm not sure if he has noticed but I'm trying to stand as far away from him as I can. He has tried to speak to me once and I've pretty much brushed him off. The doors open and we step into the waiting room and sit on the stools that are assigned for us. Rue looks up at us and smiles, but it falters when she notices the distance between Rory and I. She raises an eyebrow and I shake my head. I'll talk to her tomorrow at the interviews. Hopefully.

Every fifteen minutes someone gets called up and they never return. The room that was once loud five hours ago is now quiet as only Rory, the male from district eleven and I are left. I can't believe we've been sitting here for just over five hours. And I still have another half an hour before I get to perform my skills. I hope Rue is doing well. She should get a decent score, I've seen her climb the trees in the gym area, she's like a monkey. Minutes pass and before I know it the male from eleven is getting called. I made sure to listen to his name, I found out he is called Thresh.

I'm left alone in the room with Rory, he starts to fidget by moving his leg up and down. I really want to talk to him but I can't if he is going to keep betraying me. I need to tell Rue about this and see who she is going to side with. Will she stay with Rory or will she come with me? At this point I think she'll stay with me. I hope so anyway. A voice booms through the training centre, getting both of our attention.

"Primrose Everdeen."

I stand up and dust the invisible dirt off of myself and start walking towards the doors that lead me to the gym.

"Prim." Rory says nervously. I stop and turn around and look at him, with a slight scowl on my face.

"Don't mess up." He says as casually as he can. I roll my eyes and nod my head. I turn back around and walk into the gymnasium. I start towards the edible plants section and I realise none of the game makers are paying any attention to me. I clear my throat and they all turn their heads towards me, looking bored.

"Primrose Everdeen. District twelve." I say nervously. I turn around and load up an edible plant game on one of the screens. It starts showing me plants and I have to type the name in and whether it's edible or not. I get about twenty right until I mess up on one of the berries. I hear a few of the game makers chuckle and I feel the heat rushed to my cheeks. The correct answer starts flashing on the screen. _Nightlock. Poisonous. _I remember one of the days I went into the woods with Katniss and my father, we were picking berries. Katniss was only ten and I just turned seven.

Katniss and I found a berry bush and we striped it bare, collecting all the berries into a small weaver basket. We were so proud of our selves, so we went to show our father. When he saw us coming he smiled and looked inside our basket to see what we got. His smile dropped instantly and it was replaced with a serious look. He crouched down and looked my sister dead in the eye. _Not these, Katniss. Never these. They're nightlock. You'll be dead before they reach your stomach. _

I press the 'ok' button and continue. After a few more rounds I finish the game, only getting one wrong. A few of the game makers nod their heads and take down notes, some even applaud me. I walk over to the medicine section and start mixing different plants to make medicines. I put the little tubs of medicine in front of the labels that say what each one will cure. I feel triumphant and I turn around to see them all gathering around a dead pig. I get furious that they care more about a dead animal than me. I feel bad for the animal. It shouldn't have to be up there getting ready to be eaten by some arrogant game makers. I look around the room and find a sling shot. I do have decent aim.

I lock one of the small tubs of medicine on the string and pull back on it. I aim for the pigs head and release it. The tub flies through the air and hits the apple that was lodges in its mouth, making me look better than I actually am. One of the game makers trips backwards and falls into a bowl of punch, while a few let out loud shrieks. The head game makers turns around and stares at me with an expression I can't quite read. Is he..impressed? I throw the slingshot over the back of my head and bow in front of them.

"Thank you, for your consideration." I say in a polite tone. I then turn on my heels and stalk out of the gym, slamming my hand on the elevator button and making it shoot upwards towards my headquarters.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Oh my god. Thank you so much for all the reviews! And welcome to my new readers which I managed to gain over the past week. Last week I only had six favourites and six follows but now I have nine favourites and nine follows. I'm so grateful for you, it actually gave me motivation to write this chapter. Most days I end up struggling to write my chapters as I always find something else I could end up doing. Anyways, how are you guys going? I hope your all doing well. I know that I'm actually going into a good head space. Once again I'm going to quickly babble as I try to get my chapter up to three thousands words. It's not easy sometimes, especially when I know how I want the chapter to end. You know what, I give up on trying. It just won't budge. It is staying at two thousand words. I wonder how far away I am from three thousand. Sorry for the babble! Quote of the week belongs to Katniss! 'At some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead. The hard thing is finding the courage to do it. '**

I feel tears well up in my eyes. Why? Why did I have to do that? I most likely just screwed up everything for myself, and maybe for Rory too. I could of stood there and laughed it off, make it seem like it was funny and I was pulling a small prank on them. But no. I walk out of the gym without being dismissed. I feel a single tear roll down my check and I quickly wipe it away. The elevator pings and the doors open, I start for my room instantly, racing towards it and ignoring all the calls from Haymitch and Effie.

I open the door and slam it shut, completely forgetting how Effie will most likely give me a lecture about manners later on in the day. I collapse on my bed and finally allow the tears to stream down my face. What have I done? I hope they don't harm my family back at home. Oh my god. I may of put my family in danger. The peacekeepers could turn up at our house and take them away, burn what little things we own, kill Buttercup and Lady. They may even harm the Hawthorns too. Gale, Hazelle, Vick and Posy may all suffer because of me. Because I made a mistake and Rory may be punished for it too. Even Cinna, Effie, my prep team and Haymitch. They all associate with me so why would they spare them?

"Prim darling? It's time for dinner." Effie coos from behind the door. I wipe my eyes and go into my bathroom and rinse my face with warm water. I manage to get the redness to go down a bit, but my face is still blotchy from the tears. I throw on a soft pink shirt and a pair of grey shorts and walk down the hallway, making sure I keep my head down.

I sense everyone staring at me as I plop down into my chair besides Rory. One of the avox waiters serves me with a delicious plate of orange flavoured chicken, roast potatoes, a plum stew, tiny peas and a couple of cheese buns. I sink my teeth into one of the buns and instantly fall in love. I continue eating everything else on my plate, savouring every bit. Haymitch sighs and pushes himself away from the table and crosses his arms across his chest, staring at Rory and I.

"Alright. Just exactly _how _bad were you both?" He asks, cutting straight to the point. For the first time since this morning Rory and I lock eye contact. He raises an eyebrow and I shake my head, looking down again.

"Well, I wouldn't say I was _bad. _I was setting up different snares around the gym and started stabbing random targets with a knife until I got dismissed. They weren't really watching me though. I mean, nothings interesting about a twelve year old that sets up traps and stabs things." Rory says bluntly. The way he words it makes it completely seem like it's highly impressive. Which it is. There's a few fourteen year olds who can't even set traps. Some can't even start fires.

Haymitch clears his throat and looks at me, leaning forwards on the table while resting his elbows on the table. I sneak a look at Effie and watch as she screws her face up and shakes her head.

"I shot a tub of medicine at the gamemakers." I mumble. The whole room goes quiet and I swear you could hear a pin drop. I look up slightly and feel heat rush to my face as everyone gives me different looks.

"You what?" Effie shrieks.

"Like Rory said, they ignored me. I spent time making medicines and playing an edible plant game. I was doing really well but I messed up on one of the poison berries, so I ended up losing the little attention I got. After a few minutes they started obsessing over a dead pig. So I got mad and picked up a slingshot, loaded a tub of medicine in it and fired it." I explain. I start to feel sad again, that poor pig. He really didn't deserve to be eaten or killed.

"Well that's that." Haymitch says before taking a sip of the red wine that occupies his flask.

"Do you think they will harm my family, or Rory's?" I question. I look sideways at Rory and watch his face expression falter when I mention his family. I realise I kept looking at him through the dinner we've had so far, I need to remember he betrayed me. No more trust with him. I quickly look back at Haymitch.

"They won't. For them to do that they would have to explain to your district and all of Panem about what you done in your private session that results in harming both of your families. Which they won't do. So I can pretty much guarantee that everyone's going to be safe. If anything they'll just make your life harder in the arena, maybe Rory's too. Depends on how much they like him." Haymitch replies.

"They already are making our life hell though." Rory says with a slight chuckle. I allow myself to smile and accept the fact that they both managed to make me feel better. We all finish the rest of our meal in complete silence before going into the living room. I'm the last one to walk in and I see a spot has been saved next to Rory, but out of spite I squish myself in between Cinna and Haymitch. They both look at me and I give a huge smile to them before turning my head to look at Rory. He sighs and moves over to sit more closer to Portia. Small chit chat fills the room from the adults but it soons dies out once the television turns on.

Caeser Flickerman fills the screen starting off with a few jokes and talking about the tributes before listing the scores each tribute got. As usual both tributes from district one, district two and district four score between eight and ten. The girl from five managed to get a five. I watched her a lot in training and she seems so sly, her face reminds me of a fox. I thought she may of scored at least a seven, but obviously not. The boy from district ten that has a crippled foot managed to score an eight. I wonder what he did that was so impressive. Rue's district partner, Thresh, is rewarded with a nine. He even got higher than the girl from district one, who I believe is called Glimmer. I watch as Rue's face fills the screen and the number seven flashes on the screen. I knew she would get a high number! I have to congratulate her at the interviews tomorrow.

Most of the other tributes ended up getting numbers between three and six. Most tributes do when they aren't in the careers, none of them get to train like they do. That's why they end up winning nearly every year. District twelve has only ever had two victors, Haymitch and another lady that has passed away quite a few years ago.

The moment everybody has been waiting for arrives. District twelve. I can feel Rory looking at me but I resist the urge to look back. Ceaser does a small speech about us both as we are both only twelve years old, and how it'll be a shock if we get a high score. Which is sort of mean when you think about it, he pretty much called us both weak without saying it, even thought he was joking, I think. Rory's face appears on the screen and all the adults in the room draw in a breath. The number eight flashes on the screen and the room erupts into applause for Rory. To be completely honest, I feel jealous. I already know I'm not going to get a high number, of anything I'll probably make history from being the lowest scoring tribute to ever exist. I tell myself to not be so selfish, I have to at least show I'm slightly proud of him so I look at him and smile. There, I'm not clapping though.

The room falls silent again as Ceaser says my name. In the corner of my eye I see Haymitch lean forwards slightly with a curious look on his face. I look at Cinna and he wraps an arm around my shoulders to reassure me. I stare at the screen and become impatient. My face appears on the screen and I notice how young I look. So innocent, so weak. But my score says otherwise. The number nine flashes brightly on the screen and I release the breath that I didn't notice I was holding.

Nine.

I scored a nine. Everyone starts clapping and patting me on the shoulder. I feel a bit smug so I turn and look at Rory, allowing myself to give him a "that's what you get for deciding to not get coached with me" smile. He gives me a soft smile that makes my heart pound in my chest. _Stop it Prim._ I tell myself. _Your meant to be ignoring him. _I look away quickly and I'm guessing there's a slight blush on my cheeks as Cinna smirks at me. I shake my head and hide my face in my hands.

"I thought they hated me." I mumble.

"They obviously liked your guts." Haymitch says proudly. I lift my head and grin as Cinna pours a glass of wine for the adults and a glass of lemonade for Rory and I.

"To Primrose Everdeen, the girl on fire!"

———————————————————————

I open my eyes and watch the pale grey seep through my curtains. I yawn and rub my eyes and smile,knowing this is as relaxed as I've been ever since I first got reaped. I stare at the ceiling and ponder about what I'm going to expect tonight at the interviews. Tomorrow I head into the arena. But I don't need to worry about that now. All I have to worry about is how I'm stuck with Haymitch for four hours alone, then the same with Effie for the same amount of time. Then I get to go to Cinna and my prep team to endure the pain of getting so many layers of skin ripped off my body before I get all prettied up.

I step out of bed and throw on a pair of grey jeans and a pale green shirt. I grab my mockingjay pin and clip it on my shirt and head down the hallway to eat breakfast. As I walk in I notice all the lights are still off, but I see a figure sitting in the dark slowly eating a bread roll. I squint my eyes and figure out its Rory. I could easily walk away now without being noticed and quietly sneak back into my room. But I find myself quietly walking towards the food bar behind him.

"Couldn't sleep any longer?" He asks. It startles me and I end up dropping one of the lids into a pot of vanilla porridge. I sigh and go to fish it back out but end up being slightly pushed to the side. I watch as Rory reaches into the pot and pulls the lid out and drops it on the table. We lock eye contact and I feel the heat rush to my cheeks.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" He whispers. I look down and shake my head slightly. I feel a disappointed vibe come off of him so I look up and see the pain in his eyes.

"Prim? What did I do so wrong?" I shake my head again and look down. I start swaying back and forth slightly. How am I meant to answer that? It's going to end up being like 'oh, you betrayed me and it hurt so I put up an invisible wall to protect myself. None of this would of happened if you didn't ask Haymitch to be coached separately, so it's your fault.' But I can't really say that.

"I just got hurt, that's all." I mutter under my breath, hoping he wouldn't hear me. But he did. Oh how the odds haven't been in my favour lately. His eyes shimmer slightly and a single tear slides down his face. I can't watch him anymore, I only was protecting myself from getting hurt again, but instead I inflicted all the pain on to him, and even then it doubled. I feel so disappointed in myself. I'm a tad grateful that we are in darkness right now, I couldn't bare having to go through this and having to clearly see how he would react.

"I'm so sorry." He whispers with pain echoing in his voice. I nod my head slightly and throw my arms around his shoulders, trapping him in an embrace. He buries his head in my shoulder as his arms find their way around my waist. I feel his tears seeping through my shirt and I hold him tighter. We stand still, holding each other in complete silence, I'm already dreading the moment one of the adults walks in.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Welcome to chapter ten! We finally reached double digits, and yet we still aren't in the arena. I just want to say thank you all so much for the reviews, you guys don't understand how happy it makes me feel when I wake up to see new reviews. I'm still quite annoyed with myself as no matter how much I write I can't seem to get three thousands words lately, like last week I'm pretty sure I was only like thirty words off. But I'm not sure as I write on my phone on the actual app. Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll see you next week! Quote of the weeks belongs to Katniss! 'And then he gives me a smile that just seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me'**

I sit down at the table along side everyone else and await for our delicious breakfast that will soon come. Tonight we have our interviews and to be completely honest, I'm really terrified. Small talk erupts around the table, with Haymitch, Effie, Rory and Cinna all chatting away about random things like the weather. Portia and I remain silent for most of it, which makes me wonder why she isn't joining in on the conversation. I look over at Portia and she pokes her tongue out at me. I smile at her and do the same and we both giggle. The others all turn around and look at us, causing me to laugh even harder. Cinna smiles and shakes his head. He probably thinks I'm going mental. Who knows, maybe I am.

One of the avox's walks over to the table and lays out a variety of different soups, breads, meats and fruits along side hot chocolate and different flavoured juice. My stomach growls slightly at the sight of the food and my mouth waters. Rory turns to me and smirks as I bury my face in my hands. After about a minute or so I grab a plate pile it with cheese buns, eggs, toast, apple slices, blueberries and I grab a bowl of cauliflower soup with a cold glass of apple juice. The table goes back to a comfortable silence as we all devour our breakfast with the only sounds being the metal forks and knives scrapping against the ceramic plates.

As soon as I finish my glass of apple juice Cinna and Portia stand up informing us that they'll see us all tonight, as they need to go add the last finishing touches to our outfits. I watch them until the elevator doors block my view, now I know I have to await eight hours of torture. I look at the clock and watch as the hour hand strikes nine o'clock, indicating my time with Haymitch, and Rory's time with Effie begins. Effie stands up and start trotting down the hallway in her ridiculous high heels and turns into Rory's room. Both Haymitch and I turn and look at Rory who is currently scowling at the clock on the wall.

"Goodbye Rory." Haymitch says with a hint of humour.

"Do I have to go?" Rory whines, crossing his arms across his chest. I chuckle lightly at his annoyance, I don't really see him act this way.

"Yes. Now go have fun, maybe choose a nice pretty pink dress and a pair of white heels that are seven inches tall. Effie will love you forever."

Rory groans and scoots his chair across the wooden floorboards which makes a screeching sound that's painful to the ears. He sighs audibly and gets up, shoving the chair harshly and storms off down the hallway.

"Add a glittery pink ribbion for good measure!" I yell at him. He turns around and scowls at me before turning into his room. Once he slams his door Haymitch and I erupt into laughter. I wipe the tears from my eyes and sigh, I can't seem to get the smile off my face though. I look at Haymitch and instantly start giggling again. He chuckles along with me and it takes us around five minutes to finally calm down.

"Is he normally that mad about everything?" He asks. I shake my head and grin. I can tell Rory really doesn't like Effie all that much, but it's okay because Haymitch and I find it quite hilarious.

Haymitch leads me into the living room and I jump on to one of the comfortable chairs that can spin around in a circle. I start spinning myself around until I get dizzy. When I stop I look at Haymitch who just rolls his eyes.

"Alright sweetheart, let's get down to business." He leans forwards and rests his hands on his knees and stares at me. I awkwardly stare back, not knowing what I'm supposed to do. He sighs and tilts his head slightly, looking me up and down a few times. I raise my eyebrows at him which causes him to smirk.

"Well, you aren't exactly tall. Whatare you, around five foot?"

"Five foot one." I correct him. He nods his head but seems completely uninterested.

"Your pretty enough, you have a kind heart. You aren't arrogant nor sly, I reckon we could play you with the angle of a shy innocent young girl, who wouldn't hurt a fly."

"I wouldn't hurt a fly though." I say casually. He rolls his eyes and leans closer to me.

"Prim, your going into an arena; a death match. Your going to have to kill some animals and maybe people if you plan on getting anywhere. No more innocent little Primrose, trust me when I say this. You _need _to get over that fear of yours." Haymitch says quietly in a low, deep voice that sends shivers down my spine. I nod my head quickly to show that I understand. But I don't think I can do it, I can't allow myself to stab animals for my own sake of survival.

"How am I meant to do that Haymitch?" I try to sound strong but my voice comes out barely over a whisper. I look down and play with the hem of my shirt, I can't do it. I can't, I can't, I can't.

"When you shot the tub of medicine at the gamemakers, that's not innocent Prim. That's the Prim who won't take no as an answer, who won't allow herself to get ignored when her life is on the line. How did you manage to get the confidence to shoot it?" He asks in a soft voice. I think back to yesterday when I got so mad I snapped.

"I got mad, I knew I needed their attention so I could get an accurate score, that way it would contribute to my survival."

"Exactly, you got mad. When your in that arena you need to allow yourself to get mad when you see an animal or a person who you don't become allies with. That way you won't have to force yourself to shoot it or them. It will come naturally. Okay?"

"Okay."

The few hours I had with Haymitch were actually quite fun. We ended up sticking to the idea of me being a shy, innocent girl who can't believe she scored a nine in training. He would ask me a lot of questions that Ceaser Flickerman might bring up tonight and I would have to answer them truthful with that touch of innocence. I would try to engage the audience so I'll be unforgettable, even though I already am. Not every day you see two twelve year olds on fire. He asked me questions about my family, my friends, my life style, what I think about the Capital and the other tributes.

When he ran out of questions to ask we joked around with each other, impersonating some of the tributes and other victors that I know of, such as Finnick. When he started acting like Effie I completely lost it, tears were falling from my eyes as I struggled to breathe from the laughter. Before I left he made sure I remember his last piece of advice for the interview.

"Prim, just remember to be truthful."

It's currently one o'clock and I'm sitting in my own room with Effie, devouring a plate of chicken dipped in orange sauce, slices of fluffy bread and strawberries dipped in a gooey chocolate. We both sit in a comfortable silence. By the look on her face I can tell she had a hard time with Rory, i already guessed she would be in a foul mood but this just confirms my suspicions. I put my empty plate on my bedside table, next to Effie's empty plate.

"Had a rough morning?" I ask. She looks at me and sigh.

"You have _no clue _how hard he is to deal with! I feel really bad for Haymitch now! I mean, he was already in a bad mood when he arrived, but over the course of the four hours he got worse! When he left he slammed the door shut after he told me to shut up! All I done was try and get him to smile when he spoke sentences to me, but after his many fruitless attempts, I completely gave up!" She amplifies. I sigh and give her a hug.

"You know, if your not in the mood you don't have to help me out." I offer. As she pulls away she smiles at me and tucks a loose piece of hair behind my ear.

"Thank you Prim, but I'll be alright. I need to make sure your perfect tonight!"

Effie walks over to a bag that sits on my dresser and she pours its contents on my bed. She ushers me to the bathroom to put on a floor length dress that makes me feel like a princess. I slide it on and I struggle to walk out without stepping on the smooth fabric. When she sees me she smiles brightly at me and hands me a pair of white heels that are at least four inches. I swallow quite audibly as I slide them on. I stand up straight and feel a wave of confidence come over me. I'm now around five foot five and I look stunning. A part of me wishes this was my outfit for tonight, but sadly it's just a practice outfit.

She walks to the other side of the room and tells me to walk over to her. A chuckle a bit as it reminds me of a toddler learning how to walk. As I take my first step I realise it's not as easy as Effie makes it look. My feet wobble severely and I barely manage to make my way over to her. She grabs hold of my arms when I reach her and I steady myself. I smile at her and she happily returns it. After a few more laps of the room I can easily walk without having to worry about tripping over my dress. At one stage I grabbed the bottom of my dress and pulled it up around my knees, but Effie swooped in like a hawk and smacked the fabric out of my hands, screeching at me. "Not above the ankles!"

She taught me to always answer with a smile at the beginning, in the middle and to end with one too. I'll be pretty much smiling the entire time. A smiling, shy innocent girl who managed to score a nine. Another thing she taught me was to sit 'lady like'. Sitting with one leg crossed over the other, with a good posture. Tonight seems like it's going to be a lot more difficult than it should be.

Effie and I head down to the dinning room as it's five o'clock. We make a few jokes along the way about what kind of moods the two boys will be in. When we walk in I struggle to suppress a giggle as Haymitch throws daggers at Rory, who has a lovely scowl on his face. Effie sighs next to me.

"How lovely." She mumbles to me. I smirk at her and we walk over to the table and take our seats happily. The avox girl with the red hair walks over to us and lays out a banquet of different roasted animals, tiny vegetables swimming around in different sauces, little coloured jellies on cake stands, breads with a variety of different fillings and toppings, pasta's and rice topped with more vegetables. As I pile my plate with the food I realise this is the last night I have here. Possibly the last night I'll ever eat Capital food. I glance at Rory and I can tell he has realised the same thing. He looks over at me and we stare at each other for a moment before filling our plates even more.

"You're both going to be sick." Haymitch voices. I chuckle lightly as I try to distract myself from the new thought that has made its way into my mind.

"How did you boys go? Good?" Effie asks. Both of them glare at her and I can't help the laugh that escapes my lips.

"We aren't going to talk about that." Haymitch says aggravatedly.

———————————————————————

I stand behind the stage with all the other tributes. Cinna has put me in a ruby red dress that's knee length, thankfully. I'm also in heels that are only two or three inches that match the colour of my dress. I have my hair out in waves with a red head band that keeps it all out of my face. When I was getting ready, Cinna told me I'll be wearing flames tonight and I need to save the spinning for the very end. I watch as Rory walks off the elevator and my eyes become fixated on him. His black suit shines slightly, making the flames on the side of his sleeves pop out. His grey eyes meet mine and he smiles brightly. I wave at him and walk into his embrace that he offers.

Rue walks over to us and the three of us start chatting about the other tributes and what we think they are going to do in their interview. After a few minutes we all walk on to the stage and sit in the chairs that are designated for us. The crowd erupts into laughter as the girl from district one is called. I can tell her mentor decided to make her act flirty because of her looks. Tall, blonde hair, emerald green eyes. She's sexy all the way.

More tributes do their interviews and I find the time is ticking away so quickly. Both from two, three, four, five. Done already. I feel my heart beat pick up as the boy from seven finishes his interview. Eight, nine, ten. Rue is being called. I watch her walk on to the stage and I try my best to focus on what she's saying.

"How's that score of seven? That's incredible for someone your age." Ceaser says. Rue giggles and says something back to him but I didn't hear what she said.

"You said something back stage to me, a catch phrase. Can you repeat it for me?"

"Well, I'm very hard to catch. And if they can't catch me, they can't kill me. So don't count me out." Rue says.

"I wouldn't in a million years."

The crowd claps as she walks off the stage and returns to her seat. The boy from her district, Thresh, walks on to the stage. His interview is quite interesting, he only answers with yes or no, or he won't answer in general. His interview finishes to soon and now my name is called up. I take a deep breath and walk over to the seat next to Ceaser. The crowd applauds me and I smile at them.

"So Primrose, you made quite a fiery entrance at the opening ceremony, care to tell us about?"

"After I got over the fear of being burnt to death?" I say sarcastically. The crowd starts laughing and I turn and give them a bright smile.

"Yes, yes. Let's start there."

"Well, I couldn't of done it wouldn't my amazing stylist, Cinna, and my prep team." There, that should work as a good answer.

"Very nice, so did anyone come to say goodbye to you after you got reaped?" He asks. My heart drops as I think back to my family and Gale.

"Yes." I whisper.

"May I ask who?"

"My family, and a few friends." I say, purposely leaving out Gale's name.

"What did you say to your family?" I swallow hard as the pain wells up in my chest. Not here, I don't want to mention anything about them to these Capital people.

"I told them I would watch over them on heaven." I barely whisper, but my microphone managed to pick it up. A soft hush falls over the crowd and I look down. I hear a sniff so I turn to Ceaser and watch as he wipes a tear away from his cheek. Wow, he really knows how to make a tributes sentence have more power, more meaning. My buzzer goes off and the crowd claps softly with sadness on their faces.

"Good luck Prim." Ceaser whispers to me.

"Thank you." I get off the chair and walk back over next to Rory. His name gets called up and he goes over and starts talking to Ceaser. They're both laughing at jokes that Rory makes and I tune out of his interview. How good of an actor Ceaser is, one minute he is crying over what I said, next he's laughing and having a good time with Rory! To be honest, it makes me really annoyed.

I start to tune in when Ceaser asks him if there's a girl he has a crush on back home. Rory's cheeks turn a crimson red and he shakes his head.

"I don't believe that for a second, handsome lad like you. Surely there's at least one!" Ceaser says. Rory smiles a bit and he looks down and fidgets a bit.

"Well there is this one girl who I've had a crush on forever, but I know she'll never like me back." He responds. The crowd sighs and shakes their heads with disappointment at this girl. I feel anger boil up inside of me, all this time he has been playing me for a fool. The hugs he gives me, the jackets when I'm cold, the kiss on the forehead. All of it wasn't real. He never cared about me that way.

"Well, if you go out there and win, she surely wouldn't turn you down after that. What do you think folks?" The crowd starts screaming and cheering and it makes me wanna cut their throats. Wait, what?

"Thank you Ceaser, but winning's not going to help me in this case." Rory says shyly. Faces all around the room fill with pure confusion at his words. I'm confused too.

"Why is that?" Rory turns an even deeper red and his foot starts tapping uncontrollably. He takes in a deep breath and opens his mouth.

"Because she came here with me."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Welcome back to a new chapter! I hope everybody has enjoyed their week. Mine went quite quick. At one stage it was Monday then before I know it Sunday has snuck up behind me. Hence this quick chapter, I hadn't even started writing it until two in the afternoon today, and it's a Sunday. So sorry if the chapter seems a bit panicky, I just wanted to get it done. Sadly someone my favourites on this story has gone down one, so I have lost a bit of motivation. Anyways, enough of the babble. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope you have a great day or night! Quote of the week belongs to Katniss! "You can torture us, bomb us, and burn our districts to the ground, but do you see that? Fire is catching, and if we burn, you burn with us!" **

I remain frozen in my seat as the crowd goes completely silent. Me. It's me. I'm the one he likes. Did I hear him wrong? I feel heat rush to my cheeks and I look up at one of the screens and my own face reflects back at me. I'm on camera. My face is as red as a tomato and my jaw has dropped. I look down and bury my face in my hands to try and hide the embarrassment. He could of just told me in person, but no, he says it to everyone in Panem.

"Well, that's a piece of bad luck." Chaser says sadly.

"Yeah, it really is." Rory mumbles.

"Well, the best of luck to you, Rory." Ceases stands up along with Rory and grabs his wrist and throws both of their hands in the air.

"Rory Hawthorne!" The crowd erupts into applause and he makes his way over to me. All of us tributes stand up and I set my eyes on a wall in the distance. I can't even look at him. Tomorrow we go into the arena and he has made this so much worse for me. How can I go home now? I know Gale told me to twist the rules and being both of us home, but now that Rory has expressed his feelings for me, the Capital is going to guarantee I die to make his life even harder. Then there's Rue. I can't make all three of us victors. At one stage in the next couple of weeks, I'm going to loose at least one of my friends. I don't think I'm ready.

Everyone files out to go on one of the elevators. I squeeze myself through the crowd and hop on a different elevator to Rory. Rue and a few others join me and the doors close, shooting us upwards.

"Did you know?" Rue asks. I shake my head and look down at my feet. Poor tragic me.

"I wish he would of told me in private." I whisper to her. She smiles sweetly and places a hand on my shoulder.

"If he told you before the interview, your reaction wouldn't of been the same," I look up at her and she must see the panic in my eyes. " don't worry though, your reaction was perfect." She reassures me. The elevator stops at eleven and she gives me a quick hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Okay." I watch as she walks out and leaves me all alone. The elevator shoots me upwards and I lean back against the wall. We never decided on a location to meet. Then again, how could we? None of us know what to expect tomorrow. One of us may even die at the bloodbath. It's likely anyway, we are only twelve after all. The doors ping open and I step into our living quarters and almost fall backwards. Haymitch starts laughing at me and everyone else smiles.

"Did I scare you?" He asks while chuckling. I try my best to scowl at him but fail and end up smiling back.

"Yes. You being dressed up in a suit is so rare I thought I was imagining things." I say sarcastically. Effie giggles slightly and I can see Haymitch struggling to not smirk at me. We all walk into the living room and I fling myself on to my favourite sofa. Cinna sits down beside me and pulls me into his side. I rest my head on his shoulder and my mind wanders back to when my father was alive. I used to cuddle up beside him all the time. If I make it out alive, I wonder if Cinna will treat me like his daughter. I hope so, I can see him being a father figure to me. I smile a bit at the thought.

Rory walks into the room and I bury my head into my stylists shirt. I'm not ready to face him yet. Not now anyway. An applause erupts in the room and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Why are they applauding me? All he done was embarrass me in front of the entire country.

"Nice one Rory. A good way to give the crowd something to look forward to." Haymitch says. I raise my eyebrows even though nobody can see it.

"What?" Rory asks as confused as I am. I left my head from Cinna's shirt and look at Haymitch.

"The audience loves you both now. The two star crossed lovers from district twelve." I choke on my own saliva and everybody stares at me, even Rory.

"We are _not _star crossed lovers. We are twelve years old for god sakes!" I snap. I quickly shrink back into his shirt but keep my head out. What is happening to me? I've been getting so moody lately. This is nothing like how I used to be.

"Which makes it even better, sweetheart." I take the chance to look at Rory and find him staring at me. We lock eyes and I can see that he isn't liking what Haymitch said either. I don't know what happened, but we both burst into laughter at the same time. The adults shoot us weird looks which makes us laugh even harder.

"What's so funny?" Effie asks innocently, which makes me fall off the sofa. I lay on the ground and let my stomach move up and down with the laughter coming from my mouth.

"This! This entire thing is so- is so ridiculous!" I say in between fits of laughter. Haymitch glares at us and sends us to our rooms as he can't stand to look at either of us anymore. I'm not sure why, I mean we didn't do anything to him. I'm pretty sure they can all still hear the laughter even though we are walking down the hallway. We reach our rooms but neither of us go in. Our giggles die and an uncomfortable silence settles around us.

"So this may be goodbye." Rory says to break the silence. I nod my head and look at my feet. I don't want to say goodbye. Not now, not ever. I feel a twinge in my chest and my mood deflates.

"Maybe not. We just have to make it out of the bloodbath alive and find each other and Rue."

"How are we going to find each other, Prim? We can't decide on a location because we don't know what we are in for."

"I'm not sure. We will figure it out in the morning when we are in the arena."

"Just don't die and we will be fine." I feel anger rise into my chest. Does he think I'm going to die? Is that how weak he thinks I am? If he does, then he is a _fool_. I will make it out of the bloodbath, I will be alive by the end of the night even if it means getting my hands a bit dirty.

"Thanks for the faith." I say sarcastically before spinning on my heel and closing my bedroom door behind me. I walk over to the shower and step out of my dress and place it gently on the floor. Even thought I've been getting mad lately, majority of the time I can manage my actions. I kick off my heels and take my head band off and place them on the sink. Why do I put my shoes on the sink? I have no clue. I jump into the shower and start slamming my hands on buttons, getting jolted with icy cold water or burning hot. I end up having it at a warm temperature with a vanilla and strawberry scented lotion. I scrub the makeup off and that's when it hits me. I didn't twirl tonight. I sigh loudly and hit my head against the wall. I had one job. One job! And I ruin it. I bet that Haymitch would of scolded me if Rory didn't express his feelings.

I throw on a pair of pajamas and climb into bed, not worrying about putting blankets on or anything. I close my eyes and try to drift into a dreamless sleep. I soon realise I'm wishing for too much. I won't be able to sleep tonight, I'm way to nervous and mad. I toss and turn but eventually give up and stare at the ceiling.

I don't know how long I lie still, but soon the walls feel like they are closing in on me, suffocating me. I jump out of bed and run down the hallway and scale the stairs quickly. I push the doors open and my feet become frozen from the cold floor. A few meters away a figure stands, looking over the edge of the balcony at the party that's going on. I could slip away now, go unnoticed, but I'm drawn to him.

My feet carry me towards him without my permission and when I'm a metre behind him I finally speak.

"Can't sleep either?" I say quietly. His head jerks up but apart from that he barely flinches. He chuckles slightly and shakes his head.

"No, what about you?"

"No." Is all I say. I stand next to him and lean against the railing. I sigh softly and watch as the tiny people shout and dance.

"It's a great party isn't it? It is for us tributes, you know." Rory says with no emotion in his voice. I smile a bit and keep watching them.

"I'm sorry about snapping earlier. I don't know what's gotten into me." His eyes perk up and he looks at me, studying every detail in my face. I look back at him and after a few seconds he looks away.

"Don't be sorry. I shouldn't underestimate you." We stand in silence, just watching the party and letting the cold breeze blow over us. My mind wanders back home, if my family saw how I've been acting lately, I wonder if they would be happy or upset with me. I don't want them to be disappointed in my new change.

"I just don't want them to change me." I barely whisper, hoping Rory wouldn't be able to hear me. But he does, of course.

"How will they change you?" He asks curiously.

"I don't know. Turn me into something I'm not. I just don't want to be another piece in their game, you know?" He looks at me with pure confusion written over his face. I can tell he is trying to figure out what I mean.

"You mean you won't kill anyone?" He asks softly. I shake my head slightly and look down at my toes.

"No..I mean, I'm sure I would just like anyone else when the time came but I just keep wishing I could think of a way to show them, that they don't own me. If I'm going to die, I wanna still be me." He keeps looking at me and places a hand on my shoulder. His grey eyes stare into my blue ones with intensity.

"Prim. You're not going to die, okay?"

"Promise?" I ask softly.

"Promise."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Welcome back to another week! This marks three months now! Time has flown by so fast. Anyways, thanks for the reviews! I highly appreciate it. This week has gone pretty quick for me. I only started writing this on Saturday night, an hour before midnight. So you could almost count it as early Sunday morning. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and I'll see you all next week! Quote of the week belongs to Peeta! "Our lives aren't just measured in years, they're measured in the lives of the people we touch around us."**

My eyes flutter open and for a few seconds I feel relaxed. I lay completely still in my warm bed as this could be the last time I ever have comfort when it comes to sleeping. I may only have a few hours left of my life, might as well enjoy it while I can. I hear high heels clicking down the hallway and I pull the blankets over my head. My door squeaks as it opens and soon enough I sense a body leaning over me.

"Up,up,up!" Effie squeals as she yanks the sheets off me. I lean over and try to get them again but she grabs my hands and sits on the end of my bed.

"You can't sleep any longer Prim. You need to come have breakfast before you get sent off to Cinna and your prep team. The games start in a few hours." I nod my head to show that I'm listening but I'm not. I wonder what's going to happen in the games, I wonder if I'll manage to find Rue and Rory. I watch Effie leave the room before I bother getting out of bed. I roll off the side and go into the bathroom to take a quick shower. I'm not going to be very clean in the arena anyways.

I hop out and dry myself off with one of the plush white towels before going over to my dresser. It doesn't really matter how I dress at the moment, I'll have to change later when Cinna and I go into the launch pad. I through on a pair of blue jeans and a soft baby pink blouse and pin my mockingjay on to the front.

I start walking down the hallway and run into Rory as he walks out of his room.

"Oh, sorry." He says quickly. I chuckle at him and grab his hand which takes him back by surprise. He looks into my eyes and I look back so blue meets grey. I smile softly as he tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear. A loud noise comes from the dinning area which causes Rory and I to snap back into reality. We look at each other again and I squeeze his hand.

"Come on, lets go enjoy our last safe meal." I say as I start dragging him down the hallway. As we get closer all we can hear is yelling from who I assume is Effie. We stand in door enternace and watch as she yells at Haymitch for god knows what. Cinna and Portia look over at us and then look at our conjoined hands. They smirk at us and I feel heat rush into my cheeks. Cinna clears his throat and both Effie and Haymitch turn in our direction.

"Ah, look at this. Looks like I don't have to make an effort to convince te audience. We all knew you wouldn't be able to resist him." Haymitch says to me as he swings back on his chair. Secretly, I hope he falls off. I shake my head at him and smile as we make our way over to the dinning table. The red headed avox comes over to us and serves us a banquet of meats, cheeses, breads, fruits, soups and pancakes. I load my plate with cheese buns, eggs, bacon and pancakes topped with blueberries and strawberries. We all dig in and I try to eat as much as I can before the nerves kick in, I already know I won't be able to eat in a few minutes.

We all finish our meals and our stylists leave and tell us that they'll see us soon. Rory, Haymitch, Effie and I all sit in silence at the table, knowing this will be the last time the four of us will be together. The clock strikes nine o'clock, the games start in an hour. The two adults get up off their chairs and Haymitch nods his head towards the door. The four of us walk over and the final goodbyes begin. Effie grabs us both by the hands and looks us dead in the eyes.

"I just wanted to say thank you, the both of you, for being the best tributes I've ever had," she wipes away a tear and looks down. As it is required for the escorts to say one negative comment to the tributes, she continues her goodbye. "maybe next year I'll get promoted to a better district!" She pulls us into an embrace each and runs out of the room. Haymitch shakes his head and gives us both a quick hug.

"Good luck." He says sadly before turning on his heel to leave.

"Wait!" I quickly say. He turns around and raises an eyebrow. "Any final advice?"

"Stay alive."

———————————————————————

I sit alone in the hovercraft that takes me to the arena. I wish Rory or Rue were here with me to keep me company, but sadly each tribute has their over hovercraft that takes them to the games. A lady comes over and picks up my arm and stabs it with a needle.

"What's that?" I ask curiously.

"Your tracker. Don't want to loose a tribute now do we?"

The windows start to go black, indicating we are close to the arena. It's an unspoken rule that the tributes aren't allowed to see what their in for until they are on the pedestals. I try and pay attention to the temperature of the hovercraft to see if it changes but it stays the same. Before I know it we have landed and Cinna is waiting for me in the launch room, holding a small pile of clothing. I smile as I practically run towards him. He hands me all the clothing and I quickly go and get changed before coming back and throwing my arms around him. We stand still for a few minutes, hugging each other, before he leads me over to one of the plush red velvet couches. I sit down and place my cold hand in his warm ones and slowly drink a cup of water. I would rather not be dehydrated when I go into the arena, who knows where any of the water will be.

We both chat for a while but soon enough the conversation dies down. I made sure to tell him how much I loved all my outfits he made for me, and I have enjoyed his company. He hands me my mockingjay pin and I clip it on the front before sliding my jacket on my shoulders. An announcement comes on and warns us we have sixty seconds before the plates rise. I feel myself go pale as I start shaking uncontrollably, goosebumps start covering my body from head to toe.

"Hey, it's alright. And remember this. I'm not allowed to bet, but if I could, my money would be on you." He says as he pulls me into one last hug.

"Truly?" I ask.

"Truly."

He walks me over to the plate and I stand on it and watch as a glass cylinder comes down around me, blocking out all the noise from the launch room. Cinna places his hands on the glass and I line mine up with his. I feel the plate begin to rise and I smile at him until I can no longer see.

Sixty seconds. I have sixty seconds until the gong goes off and we are all free. I get knocked back by a gust of wind as my eyes try to adjust to the new bright light. The air around me is quite warm but not too hot. As my eyes come out of their daze, they frantically look around at my surroundings. On one side is a large lake that would be great for a water source, but I'm guessing the careers will set their camp up there, so I rule that out. On the other side is a massive field full of what looks like grains, but they stand so tall so I can't see what's past them, that's probably dangerous. Then al behind me and in front is a forest-woods. Katniss would love the trees here.

I look around and see Rory is a few pedestals to my right, he looks at me and nods his head towards the woods behind us. I nod my head back and get ready to run.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

The gong goes off and everything starts going hectic. I run off my pedestal and look around, there's a sheet of plastic and loaf of bread a few metres away and an orange backpack a little further. I run towards the plastic and bread and scoop it up in my hands and run towards the backpack. As I put my hands on the straps another pair join me. I look up and the boy from district nine looks back at me. We both start pulling the bag in our own direction but it's clear none of us will let go. I watch as he pulls out a knife and my heart stops. He leans over and sprays blood in my face, loosens his grip and falls to the ground. I look down and see a knife lodged in his back. Only the girl from district two can throw so accurately. I look up and quickly put my backpack in front of my face as a knife comes flying in my direction. It lodged itself in the fabric and I turn around and start running in the direction Rory told me too.

I crash through the trees and let sticks cut my face. I find a log and sit down on it and try scrapping all the dried blood off of my face. Once I think it's nearly all off, I take the knife out and rest it beside me and unzip the bag. I pull out the contents one by one and find a pack of matchsticks, rope, a water bottle, a sleeping bag, crackers, dried beef strips, iodine, wire and sunglasses. I pick up the bottle and left it to my lips to find it empty. Really? Is it that hard to fill it up? I sigh as I put it all in the bag. I sit around for what feels like an hour before I get up and continue walking away from the cornucopia. I wonder where Rory and Rue are. Hopefully they are together or near each other.

While I walk I make sure to search for water but at the moment I find nothing. A few animals are wondering around which makes me feel happier, at least I'm not entirely alone. I walk around the corner and crash into something, more like someone. I fall to the ground with a thod and lay there, looking up at the person who knocked me over.


	13. Chapter13

**A/N: Welcome to week thirteen! Sorry again if it seems rushed, I had no energy what so ever to start writing, but don't fear! Your chapter is here. The next few weeks my uploads may be delayed as we are starting to pack so we can move house so I'm sorry if the chapters don't come on the Sunday, just like this one isn't. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Quote of the week belongs to Peeta! "Remember, we're madly in love, so it's alright to kiss me anytime you feel like it."**

I look into the amber eyes of Foxface. She stands up and stares at me while panting. I crawl backwards a few steps while I wait for her to kill me. She keeps looking down at me and without saying anything she offers her hand to me. I stare at it for a moment, but I end up grabbing it and she hauls me to my feet.

"Do you need help looking for your district partner and the other girl your age?" She asks softly. I wonder how she knows who I'm allied with. I nod my head and we both start walking through the forest. After a few minutes she dead stops in her path and holds up a hand to me, indicating I need to stop and be quiet. She turns her head and grabs my hand and starts running, dragging me behind with her. My legs move as fast as they can as I try to keep up with her pace, which is almost impossible as she is really quick. She runs towards a tree and stops.

"Can you climb?" She asks quickly. I feel my heart stop in my chest. Whatever it is we are running from it must be chasing us. I feel the shame good through my body as I shake my head. Her face pales slightly but she quickly recovers and picks me up, throwing me onto her back, and starts climbing. When she gets about twenty metres in the air she climbs on to a branch and I slide off her back and sit next to her. The cannons start going off, indicating the initial bloodbath is over. We both listen carefully and I count on my fingers how many booms go off. Eleven. Nearly half are gone in the first day.

I hear a bunch of sticks snapping and the sound of heavy feet running. I look at Foxface and she holds a finger to her lips and makes a shushing sound. I move closer to the tree and watch as the career pack races past our tree, laughing and celebrating the death of the tributes. I keep watching them until they are out of my eyesight before I let out the breath that I didn't realise I was holding. Foxface smiles at me as she hands me a handful of berries.

"Where'd you find these?" I ask.

"I saw them on the branch above us, so I grabbed a few handfuls."

"Are they edible?" I ask curiously. She nods her head and pops a few into her mouth.

"Blueberries." She says. I grab my backpack off of my shoulder and pull out the sheet of plastic and put my handful on top of it. She looks at me weirdly and I smile.

"Let's collect more. We can wrap them up in the plastic so they aren't rolling around in my backpack, and plus, this way we can keep some without having to come back." I try explaining. She nods her head and starts picking the berries again. I shakily stand up on the branch and assist her, placing handfuls of the sweet blueberries on the sheet. After about what seems like half an hour we wrap up the berries and place them inside my backpack. I hop onto her back and she climbs down the tree at a quick pace.

"Do you have any water?" She asks while eyeing off my bag. I shake my head and pull out the bottle, showing her it's empty. She sighs and starts walking further into the woods.

"What else do you have?"

"Matches, crackers, beef strips, iodine, rope, sleeping bag, the plastic sheet, this empty bottle, wire and a pair of sunglasses." I say proudly. She turns around and raises an eyebrow.

"Sunglasses? That's new, I don't think I've ever seen a tribute have a pair of those before."

"Yeah I know, I thought I was weird when I saw them, but oh well. And oh! I almost got a loaf of bread but I got into a fight over it with the boy from district nine.

"Did he win?"

"Well, no. He got a knife thrown into his back by the girl from two, so we both dropped the bread and she throw a knife at me. It got stuck in the bag and I started running, leaving the bread behind." I say.

"You should of kept the knife."

"I did." I smirk. We continue our journey but there is no signs of any water. A few animals have wondered past with wet nozzles but we haven't been able to find their source. My mind drifts to Rory and Rue. I wonder how they are going. I hope they have found each other and are setting out to look for me. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to convince Foxface to join our team, she seems really nice anyways. A part of me wonders if they have died yet. I'm praying I don't see their faces in the sky tonight. I'm not ready to loose any of my friends yet. I don't think I ever will be ready. But, it's the hunger games. I don't get a choice on whether they all live or not.

The sun starts setting and I can feel the rush of panic settling on Foxface and I. We need to be able to find water, it's our main priority right now, but we are struggling badly.

"What's your name, anyways?" I ask curiously. It's sort of weird to be working with someone whom I don't know their name.

"Finch, whats yours?" She answers.

"Primrose, but you can call me Prim." She turns around and smiles at me and points over to the distance.

"Found a pond." She says proudly. I grin at her and we run over to the water. I unzip my backpack and fill it to the top with the water. I then add one drop of iodine so I can purify it. We sit around and wait for it to purify, knowing it'll take around half an hour to a whole hour.

"What's it like in district twelve?" She asks while swirling the water in the pond around with a stick.

"It's well, interesting."

"Interesting? How so?"

"Well, your main goal in life is to not starve to death as the food is limited. But, a lot of the people that live in the poorer part of town always die of starvation. It's common really. Anyways, once you turn eighteen you get sent to the mines unless you have your own business or you are unable to go there for health reasons."

"You guys starve? Where do you get the food from?" She asks. My mind rushes to find an answer, knowing everything we do in twelve is illegal. The woods, the hob. Can I tell her that? It's not doubt that our conversation has been cut off and we aren't one the screen as the other districts aren't really meant to know what happens in the other ones.

"We-uh, grow crops when we find them in the meadow or we make our own with limited supplies." I say. She looks at me weirdly, showing she doesn't believe me but I slightly shake my head and hope she understands that I can't tell her. I don't want to get my family or Rory's in trouble. Nor do I want our entire town to be harmed. Luckily, the anthem starts to play and we both look up into the sky and wait for the dead tributes to be shown.

The girl from district three is the first picture shown in the sky followed by the boy from district four, who I debated on teaming up with. For once, only five careers tributes made it though the first day. Next is the district five male, the district six male and female, the male and female from seven, the male from eight, the male and female from nine, and then female from ten. The sky goes dark and the anthem ends. I look down and decide the water is ready to drink so I take a sip.

"Are you okay?" Finch asks me. I nod my head and struggle to swallow.

"They were all innocent people." I whisper while handing her the bottle. She gives me a reassuring smile as she takes a sip.

"Look on the bright side. There's one less career _and _your partner and the little girl are still alive. Now we know we won't be wasting our time looking for them. And, they also know you are alive so they'll probably be looking for you, too."

"I hope their looking for me." I whisper. I'm not sure if now is the time to ask if she wants to team up with us. Some part of me thinks that she would rather be alone but she's happy to help those in need who are younger than her.

"Want to top up your water bottle and go climb a tree?" She asks. I nod my head and refill it, adding another drop of iodine in. I quickly gather handfuls of water out of the pond and splash it on my face to rinse off the remainder of the dried blood. I jump on her back and she scales the tree like always. I lay out my sleeping back and tie it to the tree with the rope I got.

"You can sleep first, I'll watch." I say to her. She nods her head and climbs into the bag and tightens the straps around her waist.

"Night, Prim. She says with a smile.

"Night, Finch."

I swing my legs over the side of the tree and kick them back and forth so I have something to do. I'll be basically sitting here for around three hours just watching the trees and the ground below me. I kind of hope some action happens close by so I have something else to watch, but then again, I don't want anyone to die or get hurt. In the corner of my eye I watch a burst of light happen and it flickers around. I turn my head and get smacked with the smell of smoke. The flames claw at the sky and I watch as a pair of hands go near the fire to warm up.

I resist the urge to yell at the person for being so stupid. It's in the middle of the night and they are deciding to light a fire. The funny thing is, it's not even that cold outside. If they are cold they could easily just put up with it. But no, that would be too hard.

The sound of a bunch of footsteps come into earshot. I can already tell it's the careers again as I only heard them a few hours ago. I hear Finch wake up and she leans over to where I am and together we watch the careers run towards the fire. A high pitch scream fills the air and I flinch. The pack comes running again while cheering and they slow down around fifteen meters from our tree.

"Shouldn't there have been a cannon?" One of the males asks. I tense as I watch flashlights move up and down the tree line and back over near the person that died.

"Yes. Is she dead?" A female asks.

"Yes. You saw me kill her." Another male says. The careers break out into an argument and I swear my muscles are about to snap from how tense they are.

"Just shut up! I'll go check myself." Another female says. I watch as she walks off through the woods and the careers pick up their conversation again.

"Do you know where the pair from twelve and the chick from eleven is? I want to know how they got high scores. I mean, a seven, eight _and _a nine? The girl from twelve got higher than me!" One of the girls shrieks. I already know she is from district one because I know she's the career who scored lower than me.

"Oh my god, calm down Glimmer. We will find them. Let's see how a bunch of twelve year olds can fight." The monstrous boy from district two says. They all start laughing and the girl who left walks back over.

"Was she dead, Clove?" The girl from one, Glimmer, asks.

"She wasn't, but she is now. Let's move on so they can collect the body." I watch as the five of them run off and I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. Finch sighs and moves across the tree.

"You sleep. I'm not tired." She says while pointing to the bag. I nod my head and crawl inside and snuggle into the fabric.

"Wake me up in a few hours." I mumble as I drift off into a sleep.


	14. Chapter14

**A/N: Welcome to week fourteen! If all goes to plan there should only be a few more chapters. Unless I change my mind on how I want this story to end and when it'll end. I'm ninety percent sure that I'll stick to the ending I'm thinking about, but who knows! I may change my mind. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll see you all next week! Quote of the week belongs to Katniss! 'The cat that Prim got hates me, I think partly because I tried to drown it.'**

_A high pitch scream fills the air and I feel myself begin to panic. The scream gets louder and louder and it physically hurts my heart to hear. It yells out my name with such force I swear the trees moved. I scream back as I run through the greenery, sticks cutting my face along the way. My legs shake with the pain of them moving so much, so quickly, but they won't stop. They continue to carry me forwards. My arms start shaking as well and I ignore the fact that they are going numb. I must fight it. I must find her. Another ear piercing scream fills the air from a different person. Oh no, not you too. _

_"Rue! Rory! I'm coming!" I scream into the forest. The birds perched above me in the trees start screaming as well, adding to the fear that's rushing through my body. Every step I take it feels like their cries for help get further away. My legs start shaking uncontrollably and my arms join them. I can't move. I fall over and convulse on the ground while I start sobbing hysterically. I must get them. My shaky hands clutch the rocks in front of me and slowly I pull myself forwards. Rue screams again but it gets cut short, almost as if someone punched her in the throat. _

_I scream louder and Rory yells back, but I don't think I'll be able to reach them. A figure runs towards the screams and I yell out to them. They jerk their head towards me and stare at my convulsing body. I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. I mouth the word 'help' but they stare at me with hatred._

_"You are meant to save them. But, you can't. You failed them. Now they will slowly die and be tortured while there's nothing you can do to save them." They say. I look closer and realise it's Finch._

_"No- I haven't failed them!" I scream hysterically. She shakes her head and taps her wrist a few times._

_"Tick tock, Prim. You need to beat the clock."_

I quickly sit up panting and feel relieved that I didn't actually scream. I whip my head around a few times and Finch watches me with a look of sympathy. I look up at the dark sky and look at the stars that are shinning down on me. My heart beat slows back down to normal and I lean against the tree trunk.

"Lucky your strapped in. You would of fallen out if you weren't." Finch informs me. I smile a bit at her and inch myself out of the bag.

"It's my turn to take watch anyways. You sleep, I'll wake you at dawn or a bit before hand." She nods her head at me and we switch places, her crawling into the bag and me sitting on the end of the branch. Within minutes she starts snoring quietly. My mind wonders back to what the careers said a few hours ago. What did I do to them? Is this all because I scored higher than Glimmer. I mean, yeah it's a surprise to me too, but I'm not walking around trying to kill people because they got higher than me.

Did she even think that maybe, just maybe, the gamemakers gave me a higher score so I become a target. I don't know about her, but I know it's crossed my mind. A rustle comes from my right and I turn my head towards that direction. A few footsteps echo through the forest and I scoot closer towards Finch. Two figures break through the bushes and stop and take a drink. My eyes squint as I try to make out who the figures are.

"Where is she? We know she isn't dead." A boy says. My heart picks up its pace a bit. Is that Rory?

"I'm not sure. As much as I hate to think it, she may of been the cannon that went off after the anthem." A girl says. Rue. It's Rory and Rue. I start making quiet noises to try and gain their attention but they don't hear me. I look over at Finch and debate on waking her up, but I go against it. They won't go to far in a few hours, we'll catch up to them.

"I wonder if she's injured." Rory says.

"Doubt it. She didn't run that far into the Cornucopia." Rue replies. How did she know? Did she see me? Maybe that's why they chose to come this way.

"Are you sure she went this way?"

"Rory. I'm positive. I already said that. Let's make camp in one of these trees. We can continue tomorrow." I watch as they both climb up a tree a few metres away from me. I feel giddy with excitement, if I wake Finch up earlier enough we may get to catch them before they leave.

———————————————————————

I watch as the sun begins to rise and find its way through the leaves and bushes. The birds slowly come to life along with the other forest animals like the bunnies and foxes. I turn around and shake Finch until she wakes up. She sits up and I already have a huge smile plastered on my face. She raises her eyebrows at me and I point to the tree that has Rory and Rue in it. Her gaze follows me arm and settles on my friends. She looks back at me and gives me a small smile.

"See, I told you that you'll find them." She says quietly. We both back up all of our supplies and put them in my back pack. I climb on to her back and she climbs back down the tree smoothly. I jump off and we both race over to the tree and I lock eyes with Rory. His face lights up and he shakes Rue awake and she looks down at me too. Finch and I slow down into a steady pace and we watch as the two of them climb down the tree to join us. Rue runs towards me and throws her arms around my shoulders, trapping me in her hug. I return it.

"I told you she wasn't the cannon that went off earlier." Rory says. The three of us start laughing but I realise Finch isn't. I turn around and look at her and she's looking down at the ground.

"Rue, Rory, this is Finch." I introduce. They all say their greetings but she still looks awkward.

"Well, I better get going now. It was nice being with you, Prim." She says sadly. I feel my heart shatter, is she really leaving? She begins to walk away but I quickly grab hold of her wrist. She turns back around and looks at me.

"Wanna join our team? Together we may be able to outrun the careers." I ask. She smiles at me and nods her head. The four of us walk over to one of the logs that are on the ground to show each other all of our stuff. Rue pulls out a backpack which contains a sharp rock, a slingshot, a small water skin and an extra pair of socks. Rory also got a backpack and inside his he has a water bottle, matches, rope, a couple of knives and a packet of dried fruit. When I show them all of my supplies Rue gasps and picks up my sunglasses.

"Where did you find these?" She says in awe.

"In my back pack." I reply. She looks at me with a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Your so lucky. These are glasses that work at night. They help you see everything way clearer!" She informs me. I put them on even though it's day time and my vision becomes blurry and everything seems to be cracked and on a lean. I quickly take them off and stuff them into my bag. The four of us walk over to the little pond Finch and I found to refill our bottles and the smell of smoke fills the air, threatening to suffocate us. I look over at Rory who seems to pick up on it too, and he looks at me with wide eyes. Rue and Finch both start to smell it and we all look at each other.

Rory slowly turns his head around and I can see the flames reflecting off of his face, making his grey eyes glow brightly. He whips his head back around and ushes us to stand up. I turn my head and become faced with a massive wall of fire which has to be at least seven metres high descending on us. This is no tribute fire that got left unattended, this is one the gamemakers made.


	15. Chapter15

**A/N! Welcome back to another week! I just realised how short my last chapter was and I'm so sorry! It looked bigger when I wrote it and hasn't uploaded it. Currently, my family and I are selling our house so the uploads will be most likely delayed, I apologise in advance. Anyways, quote of the week belongs to Katniss! 'But because two can play at this game, I stand on tiptoe and kiss his check. Right on his bruise.'**

My first instinct is to find some medical supplies and go help all the injured animals that are already hurt from the flames. My other instinct is to push the other three forwards with me following up rear. But, I need to make it back home. For Katniss, my mother, Gale. I need to show them I'm strong, especially my father. He would be watching over me right now, I can almost hear his voice telling me to stick with the group and run. Run far away from the inferno and find water and safety.

Rory is the first one to move as he runs into a full blown sprint, not bothering to check if us girls are following him. Finch is next, running as fast as she can and she manages to keep right behind Rory. Rue and I look at each other and she grabs my hand and we chase after them, struggling a bit. I can feel the heat from the flames lapping at my ankles, threating to burn us if we don't continue on. But, lucky for the four of us, I know how to treat burns.

Thick, black smoke fills the air and makes it difficult to see. I end up squinting as I try to find Finch or Rory. Rue starts to run faster, dragging me behind her, but it's obvious that we both know we won't be able to catch up. My throat becomes really dry and I feel like I'm slowly suffocating. Who knows, maybe I am. I try and think what my mother once told me but I can't remember anything. I'm guessing the smoke is finding it's way into my brain.

Ahead of us I see the two of them have stopped and are bent over panting. We catch up I shake both their shoulders, urging them to keep moving, but Rory just shakes his head.

"We are going to have to— split up." He manages to say in between his sharp breathes. I feel my stomach drop, I'll be leaving two of them behind. Rue nods her head and turns around as a fire ball gets launched at us.

"Duck!" I yell. We all throw ourselves to the floor and the flaming ball it's a nearby tree, exploding it and throwing burning logs to the ground. My body becomes full with adrenaline and I stand up on my feet and run, not bothering to check who's following me. I hear a pair of footsteps close behind me and another few sets running away from me. My legs move quicker than they ever had before and soon enough I'm a few minutes away from the fire. I slow down my pace and just manage to bend down as I throw up the food I've had yesterday, which only consists of the berries Finch found. A hand grabs my hair and pulls it out of the way as I spit up bile.

"You okay?" Rory asks. Good, I was secretly hoping it was him that was going to follow me. I nod my head and shakily give him a thumbs up. I crawl over to a boulder and lean against it, unzipping my back pack and taking a sip of the water. I sigh and he does he same with his bottle. As I go to stand up I watch as a fireball comes flying towards my face. I feel self freeze and Rory quickly pushes me over on to my side. Just as my head hits the ground the rock explodes and I quickly throw myself forwards again to dodge the rocks on fire. My eyes become wide with terror and I stand up and we both starting running once more.

"Where do they want us to go?" Rory asks.

"The lake probably. I'm guessing the careers are there or will be near by. Glimmer has it in for me, so just a warning, they'll be wanting to kill me." I say quickly as my legs keep carrying me forwards. Rory gets a head of me as he tries to find a way to get around the fire. As I got to jump over a flaming log the bottom of my jacket gets caught in the mess and sets ablaze. I scream and throw myself to the ground, rolling backwards and forwards to put out the fire which I successfully manage. I stand up quickly and go to continue moving just as another fireball hits the ground, burning my thigh.

I scream once more as my leg burns from the fire. Rory rushes over to me and picks me up in his arms, careful to not touch the bottom of my jacket or my thigh, and continues to sprint. The pain in my leg becomes almost unbearable and I almost pass out a few times along the way, but I manage to stay conscious as Rory plunges us into a pond near the lake. The pain instantly draws out of my leg and I take my jacket off and let it soak in the water.

I look over at Rory and I can barely see his skin as he is covered is ash from the burning nature. I smirk at him and he shakes his head and smiles at me. I gather a handful of water and throw it at his face to try and rinse some of the ash off. His grey eyes meet mine and we stare at each other until he suddenly throws water at me. I spit the water out of my mouth and splash him again. I lean over and grab my bag and refill the bottle and add in a drop of iodine.

I look down at my thigh for the very first time and get taken back by how deep it's burnt me. A few centimetres away from the bone. The skin on the outside of my wound is black and peeling from the dryness even though it's soaked in blood. I look up at Rory and his face is turning a sickly green colour and I worry he is going to puke.

"It's not to bad," I reassure him. "nothing I've never seen my mother deal with."

"It looks as if you got thrown into a fireplace then dragged back out quickly." Is all he says. I look around and wish I had a medical kit so I can bandage my leg to avoid infection. Rory catches on to what I'm doing and rips the bottom off of his jacket. I shake my head at him.

"What? We are going to have to do the same to yours." He says as he wraps the piece of fabric around my thigh. He leans over and pulls one of my bobbiepins out of my hair and nearly secures the fabric together.

"I didn't even know I had that in my hair." I say. He chuckles at me and smiles.

"Me neither. It was hidden but after all your rolling and jumping around it's made an appearance." He says with a tint of humour in his voice. I smile at him and that's when we hear it. Pairs upon pairs of shoes hitting the concrete about fifteen metres behind us. Rory and I quickly look at each other and I quickly throw my jacket on, fix my backpack and get to my feet and start running into the woods. Just as we both near the tree line voices call out at us.

"Look! There she is! She's with her little boyfriend!" A males voice calls. Normally, I would blush if someone called Rory my boyfriend, but not now. My legs carry me faster and Rory runs up ahead of me. I can hear their footsteps snapping the sticks on the ground and I know they are close behind me. Rory stops at the base of a tall tree and I quickly jump on his back and he begins to climb. By the time he gets to ten metres high the careers have formed at the bottom.

"Where do you think you guys are going?" Glimmer yells out. I slide off his back and sit on the branch we have stopped on.

"We are doing exercise. Is that a problem with you?" Rory asks. I resist the urge to smile. The careers mumble to themselves and that's when I take the opportunity to speak.

"How's it been with you guys?" I call out. The boy from district one raises an eyebrow at me and shakes his head. The boy from two looks up and stares at us.

"Pretty good, yourself?" He asks. I can almost hear the Capital laughing at us right now. What a hit it must be, two twelve year olds from district twelve having a casual conversation with the careers even though they clearly want us dead.

"It's been a bit warm for my liking. The airs cooler up here though." I answer. Rory grins at me and I happily return it. The boy throws all his weapons to the ground but keeps a lethal looking sword in his hand as he makes his way towards the tree.

"Lovely, I'll come on up then." He says. The careers all chuckle and I smile at him and wave him up. I jump back on to Rory's back and he starts to climb up again. He stops when we get fifteen metres high and we watch as the boy's hand slips and he tumbles down to the ground. Some part in the back of my brain is hoping that he broke his neck or back but I kick myself for thinking that. I shouldn't be hoping someone died, what's wrong with me?

"Cato, what was that?" Clove asks. Okay, so his name is Cato. I know three of their names now. He gets back on to his feet and growls something about the tree branches being to thin. The girl from one, Glimmer, sighs loudly and walks over to our tree with a bow in her hands. I look at Rory and I know he wants that, he may not be the best at shooting but he may be able to defend himself with it if someone is running at him in a straight line.

She pulls one of the arrows our from the quiver that's sling over her shoulders and loads it up, aiming directly at my head. I look over at Rory and he has fear in his eyes. He thinks I'm going to die. I smile at him and look back at Glimmer who releases the arrow. I quickly move my head out of the way and it lodges itself into the tree trunk. Laughing, I pull the arrow out from the wood and wave it at her teasingly. Her district partner shoved her slightly and goes off about how easy it is to get us as we are basically idle.

"How about you try then, Marvel. Let's see you kill them." Glimmer remarks. God, the kids from district one have pathetic names. He snatches the bow out of her hands and grabs one of the arrows and shoots it at us. The arrow flies about a metre away from Rory and I start laughing.

"You know, for careers you guys are terrible at shooting!" Rory calls down to them, causing me to laugh harder. They all glare at him. The girl from district four sighs and sits on the ground impatiently.

"Just leave them up there, they'll have to come down at some point or starve to death. We can deal either them then." She says. They all break out into an argument about whether to keep trying, to stay or to just leave. Them staying under the tree wins. We watch as they set up camp underneath us, making a fire to cook some of their fresh meat and to play around with their weapons. Night has sprung upon us quickly and soon enough it's pitch black. The tributes from district one pull out the same sunglasses as I have and put them on so I do the same. Everything looks so much clearer.

The anthem begins to play and everyone looks up to the sky. The girl from district eight gets shown in the sky and the seal goes dark. At least we know Rue and Finch are still alive. I unzip my bag and pull out four of the precious crackers and hand two of them to Rory. We both slowly nibble on them to give our stomach a little bit of food before we sleep.

"You go to sleep first, I'll take watch." Rory says quietly. I go to argue with him but the moon reflects off of his face, making it clear to see him. He looks at me so seriously I don't bother trying to disagree. I nod my head and give him a quick hug and he kisses the top of my head. I pull away when I realise the cameras will probably be on us right now unless something more important is happening. I crawl into the sleeping bag and tie myself in. Just as I'm about to enter my slumber I hear Rory speak.

"Night Prim, I love you."


	16. Chapter16

**A/N: Welcome, welcome, welcome! Happy hunger games, and may the odds be forever in your favour. It's the fourth month mark! 16 weeks! Time has flown by so fast, it hasn't felt like that long. Anyways, I hope you all had a great week and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Quote of the week belongs to President Snow! "Fear does not work as long as they have hope, and Katniss Everdeen is giving them hope."**

I roll over and try to ignore my sister tapping my shoulder quickly. We don't have school today so she shouldn't be waking me up this early. I mean, the suns not even up yet. I know that because all I see is black, not a weird red colour from the light. I groan and try to push her away from me so I can sleep again but she keeps on tapping me. I sigh loudly and snuggle deeper into my bed and try to hide myself.

"Prim. Prim get up!" A voice whispers harshly. Only, it's not my sister. I open my eyes slowly to find Rory peering down at me with panicked eyes. He slides backwards allowing me room to sit up straight and I look at him.

"I still had a few hours-"

"Shh! Be quiet, Prim!" He interrupts. I look down at the careers who are camped under our tree and roll my eyes. I look back over at Rory and he points upwards at one of the branches above our tree. I slowly tilt my head backwards and look at a nest. A tracker jacker nest. I drift my eyes back downwards and settle them on him but in the background I see movement. I peer my head around Rory's body to get a closer look at the movement and see two things move.

"Rue and Finch are in the tree behind us if that's what your looking at." He informs me. I nod my head in understanding.

"What do we do with that?" I ask while pointing at the nest. He sighs and pulls out a knife from one of the backpacks and makes a cutting motion with it. At first I'm confused on what he means but I quickly catch on. He wants to chop the nest or branch and have it plummet to the ground.

"Won't they attack you?" I ask, knowing what the tracker jackets are like. He shakes his head and smiles at me.

"They are subdued from the smoke. When I start to cut they won't register what happens, it's as if they are drugged. I plan on throwing the branch on the careers to make them move away because with the impact it should hopefully awaken the insects, and they should attack them as they will think their the enemy." He explains. I raise my eyebrows and chuckle slightly at him. He really is taking after his older brother, Gale.

"Won't it make noise?" I question. He looks at me dead in the eye for a few moments before his eyes flicker up towards the nest again. He swears under his breath and I force myself not to laugh. Don't want the careers waking up now do we. He stares blankly into the distance and I can almost see his brain ticking away. He looks way older at the moment. Not a twelve year old. But maybe fifteen or sixteen. After a while he smirks at himself and turns around and looks at me.

"I have an idea." He says with no further explanation. I give him a look that shows I need to know what's happening even though he doesn't want to tell me and I manage to make him crumble. He explains that in a few hours when dawn comes I'll throw a stick far away and hit a rock with it. If the careers are awake it'll divert their attention over their and Finch will start running. If they aren't awake the stick shouldn't awaken them and Rory will quickly climb up the tree to the nest and start to cut the entire branch off. Knowing it'll make a lot of sound, when he gets around a quarter to a half way he'll start using the knife as an axe and continuously lodge the knife into the tree and pull it out and repeat until it cuts through.

"Won't the vibration from the knife awaken the tracker jackers? I don't want to get stung, you know."

"Well, it all depends on how subdued they are. The more the better but who knows how much smoke actually drifted in this area. At the mention of the smoke my thigh starts to throb once more with the pain. I hold my hand tightly against it hoping to get rid of some of the pain but it doesn't work. I can feel Rory watching me and it's almost guaranteed the cameras are too. A twelve year old girl from district twelve who's in pain and who knows how to heal, not knowing what to do. Everyone must know how I'm going to handle it.

A clunck pulls my attention away from my thigh just as Rory's did away from me. We both jerk our heads around and that's when I see it glistening in the moonlight. I turn around and cling to the trunk and inch myself into a standing position to get a better look. I squint to see and I break out into a huge smile. I gasp rather loudly and quickly sit back down, giddy with excitement.

"What is it?" Rory asks.

"It's a parachute! It's a sponsor! Rory, we have sponsors!" I say quickly while shaking him slightly. His face brights up and he smiles too and starts laughing quietly. He quickly stands up and carefully walks along the branch and starts to climb upwards. He grabs hold of the parachute and climbs back down and hands it to me.

"You take it, it's yours." He says. I shake my head and push it back at him.

"You grabbed it."

"Your injured"

"Your making the plans to escape the careers."

"You risked your life multiple times."

"What? No I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"When?"

"With the fires." He pushes the parachute back at me, indicating he won the argument. I roll my eyes and rip the actual parachute off and go to throw it at the careers but Rory quickly snatches it off me and puts it in his bag. I glare at him and he gives me a sarcastic smile. I twist the lid of and pick up a piece of paper that was sitting on a cream. '_Apply generously and stay alive -H'. _I smile and hand the note to Rory so he can read it even though it doesn't matter to him. I lift the container up to my nose and smell it. Burn cream. I dip my finger into it and wipe it on my burns and sigh as the pain reduces and almost leaves my body completely. I keep rubbing the cream in and soon enough it no longer hurts.

I tighten the lid back on the container and place it into my backpack quietly. I pull out my water bottle and take another sip and nibble on a cracker. My hand brushes past the matches and an idea strikes into my mind. I slowly pull it out and examine it and out opponents underneath us while ignoring the looks Rory is throwing at me. I pop the cap off and pull out one of the matches and smile. It's perfect.

"You have an idea or something?" Rory asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. I nod my head and turn my body around so I'm facing him directly.

"We light this match when it's still dark but when the suns just starting to rise. We throw it down on the careers, hoping it won't blow out. If all goes to plan it should turn into a fire and drive them away from our tree. Maybe, it'll even, burn them-" I spit out. I feel terrible for trying to kill them, but if I'm going to make it out alive I'm going to have to get my hands dirty.

"How will we get down then?" He asks.

"Jump off the other side." I say as if it's the most obvious thing.

"We can't jump from here, Prim. We are too far up."

"Well, climb down the other side until we can jump." He shakes his head at me and looks back up at the nest. He takes the match from me and lights it against the tree branch we are sitting on. He aims it up to the nest and I slap it out of his hand and it hits the ground and sets ablaze. I look at Rory and our eyes meet with panic in them. I just started a forest fire. I hear rustling coming from the tree next to us and before we know it Rue lands in our tree.

"What did you guys do?" She whispers quickly. Rory points to me and Finch lands in our tree with us. The careers start to stir under us causing me to panic even more. We are trapped in this tree. The fire starts to creep towards the careers and guilt floods my body. I need to save them. Rory reaches up and cuts the tracker jacker nest off the branch with the knife, deciding to not being the branch with him. About ten of the wasps fly out of the nest and sting us all. Rory getting four, Rue, Finch and I getting two each. We all scream and he throws it at the ground and it bursts open and attack the careers on the ground.

The wake up instantly and scream as they get strung and the fire laps at their ankles. They stand up and bolt towards the lake while slapping the insects away. Rue and Finch start climbing down the tree and I jump on to Rory's back and he follows them. About half way down he looses his footing and crashes to the ground with me. We hit the ground with a thump and I feel dizzy. I shakily stand up and pull him to his feet and we run after the other two. We all crash through the forest getting burnt a few times along the way as the fire travels across the ground.

Rory stumbles a few times ahead of me and I can tell he is starting to hallucinate. I grip hold of his hand tightly to try to keep him in reality and drag him along with me. Rue collapses to the ground and Finch runs back for her and picks her up. She looks at me dragging Rory and she gives me a sad smile. We are the only two that have not gone crazy. A cannon goes off and I can't help but think Rory and I killed whoever it was. The edges of my vision start to go blurry and I know I'm starting to loose grip on reality.

"I'm loosing-Finch help!" I scream. Everything around me starts spinning and my grip on Rory loosens. I watch as he slumps to the floor and dissolved into a deep hole in the ground full off dead plants and foamy bubbles. I scream for him to return back to me but he keeps going further into the ground and soon he gets blown away into the dust. Something touches me and I turn around and come face to face with a pixeled person who keeps trying to speak to me. I squint to try and make it clear it it doesn't work so I walk past it and run into a wall filled with all my family members and friends.

I pound against the glass screaming for Katniss and my mother to come to me but they stand motionless along side Gale, Buttercup, Rory, Rue, Finch and many of my other friends. I collapse to the ground and allow my body to shake uncontrollably and fill myself sinking. I try and lift my hand but it stays stuck to the floor. I scream and try to kick free but seem to sink further and further every time. I close my eyes and feel my eye sockets fill with walking flowers and I force myself to pass out completely.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey hey hey! Welcome back to another week! I'm sorry that this chapter may seemed rushed, and I'm sorry for the late upload, but this story should be coming to an end very soon! How exciting! Hopefully everybody has enjoyed their week so far and I hope you enjoy your next one too! I am starting to write another story, it's a divergent one. But, this time I'm not going to start uploading until all chapters have been written or until most have been. So you'll see the story up in a few months time, hopefully! Anyways, quote of the week belongs to Katniss! "I am not pretty. I am not beautiful. I am as radiant as the sun." **

I slowly open my eyes and get blinded by the sun. My limbs ache from not moving them and I try to sit up but struggle. I blink away the blurry haze that has found its way into my eyes and notice I'm not where I was before. I stretch my back and neck before getting to my feet. I wobble for a couple of seconds but manage to keep my balance. The nightmares I had before come flooding back to me and I start rubbing my eyes to ensure no walking flowers are attacking me. I look down at one of my arms and find a bunch of soggy leaves draped across a lump which I'm assuming is one of the bites from the tracker jackers. I peel the leaves off and find the lump. It looks pretty cleaned up but I can't tell what is in the inside of it.

A rustle comes from the bushes that sit to my left and I slowly move my head towards the sound. I watch a leg get pulled into the shrubbery quickly and eyes look at me through the leaves. I lean forwards and squint to see who it is but they disappear. I grip hold of my knife that sits in the inside my jacket which I somehow haven't lost yet and get to my feet. A figure runs past a few of the trees and I watch them pull out a weapon. My heart stops and I find myself backing away from them. I'm going to die.

They slowly start to move towards me while staying hidden but I can still see their legs. My breathing increases drastically and I amble backwards quicker. I trip over a fallen log and land flat on my back. The figure emerges from the forest and I watch as the tall sticky built male from district ten charges at me with a knife. I sit up quickly and crawl backwards and back into a tree. He continues to race at me and I hold my knife out in front of me shakily. Even though he wants me dead, I don't want to kill him. I watch as his medical kit falls out of his bag and I stare at it with hope. I need it if he hurts me.

When he is in range he throws his knife at me and it lodged into the tree next to me. At least he has bad aim. I release the breath I didn't notice I was holding, thinking he hasn't got another knife and that I'll have time to run. But, I'm not that lucky. He pulls out another time and walks towards me, looking me dead in the eye while flipping the knife in his hand. He smirks at me with an evil look in his eyes and it brings my voice back to me. I start screaming which causes him to increase his pace and soon enough he is at my feet, looking down at me.

He punches me hard in the face which makes me loose my balance and I fall on to my side. No doubt we are on the screens right now, knowing a fight is happening. Only, we aren't fighting. It's him going to murder me without me trying to save myself. I can imagine Katniss and my mother watch me right now as I get beaten. They are probably in tears. They both know I'm weak and won't kill a fly. He kicks my ribs and I quickly get to my feet and position myself so if he runs at me he'll get stabbed by the knife. I look him in the eye and with my spare hand I pull out my rope.

Without thinking I tie it into a noose that can easily be tightened. He eyes me carefully, studying my face and body language and lunges at me once more. His knife finds its way to my body and it wedges itself in my arm right below my shoulder. I scream loudly and flung my noose around his neck shakily. He scrapes his dirty fingernails down the side of my face and I quickly tighten the noose before I think about what I'm doing. He lets out a choking sound and I kick him hard in his thigh while pulling on the noose. He goes to fall over but the rope cuts off his airways and he collapses to the ground. A cannon booms, signaling his death.

I walk over and pick up his medical kit and grab his bag and stuff it in mine without checking it's contents. I walk back over to the body and stare at him and realisation finally hits me. I killed someone. I feel my entire body start to shake and I slowly life my hand to my mouth which is wide open. I feel tears sting my eyes and I let them fall even though it makes me look weak. My ears begin to hurt from a loud pitch noise which sounds like a scream, but then I realise it's coming from me. I'm the one who is screaming.

"Prim! Prim!" A voice calls for me nearby. I turn my head around and watch as a figure bursts into the open and watches me and the boy I killed. My hands start shaking more than they were before and my knees give way and I fall to the ground and let myself shake and cry. Through my blurry vision I notice Rory is the person watching me and I force my eyes shut, squeezing out more tears. I feel his arms wrap around me and he pulls me into his chest where I bury my head in his shirt. I sob while clutching the back of his jacket and he runs his hand over the top of my head and tries to calm me down.

One of his fingers trails down my arm and rests where my stab wound is and he wipes a bit of blood from my shirt. He pulls back from me slightly, enough to be able to inch my blood and sweat soaked jacket off me and he rolls up my t-shirt sleeve so he can see the wound. He gasps quietly as he softly rubs his finger against the still oozing wound.

"What happened?" He asks in a quiet, calming voice.

"I killed him," I whisper. "I killed him, I killed him, I killed him! I'm a murderer Rory! A murderer!" I say overwhelmed. I continue to cry into his shirt. He strokes my hair once more and rubs my arm that's not injured.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay Prim." He tries to soothe me.

"No it's not! That man is dead because of me!"

"Prim, it was only self defence. He obviously came at you first and you tried to protect yourself, which you half managed to do." He says with a small smile at the end. I pull away from him and run a finger over my wound and sigh.

"I could of done it another way, I could of tried to make peace with him or tell him I meant no harm. But I didn't. I just killed him. I mean, he watched me make his own noose." I whisper, my eyes sparkling with tears. He pulls me into a hug and I wrap my arms around his shoulders and snuggle my head into his neck. Eventually, I lift my head out and stare off into the distance as I hear footsteps coming close to us. Rory moves a bit and he looks the way I'm looking and sighs and stands up. He holds out a hand for me and I grab hold of it as he pulls me to my feet.

"Come on, we need to get going. Plus, the gamemakers can't collect him while we are here." He says while pointing to the boy. I nod my head and we start walking away from him and the footsteps hand in hand. We sit down against a tree and watch the hovercraft come down and take away the boy from district ten.

"That's fifteen gone now." Rory sighs. I look at him and raise my eyebrows.

"Who died after the tracker jacker attack? I passed out and don't know what happened." I ask. Rory chuckles slightly.

"The girl from one and girl from four. They died from the wasps so I'm guessing they count as my kills." He informs. I nod my head and look at the lump on my other arm from the tracker jacker.

"Do you remember how many stings I got?" I ask.

"Two. Rue found these weird leaves that help bring out the venom."

"And the fire I started? Did anything happen?"

"Yeah. Finch and Rue managed to get away, so did the tributes from two but the boy from one got burnt a bit, but he's okay." Rory informs me. I nod my head and that's when I realise he never mentioned himself.

"And what about you?" I ask slowly. He sighs and rolls up one of his jacket sleeves and reveals his forearm which is covered in blisters. I gasp and slowly touch it and he flinches.

"Oh Rory, I'm so sorry." I whisper. I hurt him. I hurt one of my best friends. He gives me a sad smile and shakes his head.

"It's not your fault. It happened when I was hallucinating. I don't know why but I decided to take my jacket off and stick my arm in the fire thinking it was clean water." He tells me while laughing a bit. I smile at him and unzip my bag, emptying everything on the ground. I grab the burn cream and apply it on his burn and on my own thigh. I find the other lump with the leaves on it and I pull the goop off and throw it away.

"I took his stuff." I say, pointing to the medical kit and the other bag. Rory grabs the kit quickly and pulls out a roll of bandages and wraps my arm and shoulder with it to try and stop the blood flow.

"You should of told me about this. We could of saved you a lot of blood, you know. After all, your meant to be the healer." He says calmly. I sigh and shrug my shoulders. I grab the spare back pack and empty it to find a half empty water container, matches, a handful of berries, some cooked meat and a small bread roll.

"We should all have a feast later with all the food we have, once we find Rue and Finch of course." I say.

"No, we can't eat all of it. We need to save some for the other days to come." I roll my eyes at him. He helps me back everything back in my bag and pulls me to my feet as he gets up.

"We need to find the other girls. So, we are going to have to split up," He gives me a handful of rocks and looks me dead in the eye. "Every where you go place a rock down on the ground every five metres so it doesn't look to suspicious. That way we can meet back here or find each other if need be. I'll be doing the same." I nod my head as I can't be bothered to argue.

"Listen, Prim. I don't want to see your picture in the sky tonight, so please, if anything unusual happens or if you feel like your in danger. Run back and follow my path. I can't loose you. If you die, I die." He says quickly.

"I won't die, Rory. I promise." He pulls me into a hug and when he pulls back he places a hand on my neck and on my shoulder. Blue eyes meets grey and we stare into each other's eyes and he leans in and kisses me. He pulls back and I smile at him and I can feel myself blushing.

"Stay alive." He murmurs and turns around and walks away, leaving me behind.


	18. Chapter18

**A/N: Welcome back everyone! The authors note will be at the end. But, quote of the week belongs to Peeta! "I remember everything about you," says Peeta, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "-you're the one who wasn't paying attention."**

Once Rory has disappeared into the distance is when I finally turn around. I look down at the handful of rocks he gave me. They are sort of shiny and smooth. I place one down on the ground where I'm currently standing and try and camouflage it into the ground where it's still visible so I know it's there. The birds chirp in the trees happily and I watch as a mockingjay flies past me. My hand automatically finds its way to my pin and I trace my finger around the outer ring. I stare into the distance and wish he would come back to me right here and right now with Rue and Finch. But things like that can't happen, not even here in the Capital. I sigh and turn around and start walking into the other direction.

Every five metres I go I place down a rock like he told me to. A cannon booms though out the arena which makes me jump sky high and my heart almost stops. What if that was Rory? Or Rue? Or Finch? I might of just lost one of my friends while I'm looking for them. I turn around and watch my path of rocks. Do I run back that way to find Rory? But there could be a possibility it was him and I would find his body, and maybe his killer.

I can hear my heart beating quickly and my head throbs in sync with the beats. My breathing picks up its pace and for the first time since the games started, I'm alone and scared. Every other time I've been scared I've had someone with me. Wait, no. That's not right anymore. I was scared when the district ten male came at me and nobody was around until I killed him. Killed him. He's dead because of me. I'm a murderer, a monster. Voices fill the air screaming in different pitches- it is Rory, Rue and Finch. Whispers fly around me saying monster and murderer. I clasp my hands over my ears and fall to the ground. I start screaming and don't stop until my voice becomes raw.

I open my eyes which I didn't remember closing and take a few deep breaths. I'm going completely insane. I jerk my head backwards and forwards and become disappointed when I don't see Rory. He didn't come running back for me after the cannon, or my screaming if he heard it. Which means he's probably dead, or too far away for me to reach him. I feel a tear roll down my cheek and I use my dirty jacket to whip it away. Oh how weak I must seem to the Capital and the districts right now. I can almost hear Haymitch yelling at me through the screens telling me to get a grip.

I slide my backpack off of my shoulder and get my drink bottle and take a few sips, leaving it almost empty. I make a mental note to search for water along the way. I grab one of my crackers and eat it with a few of the berries I got from Finch. I cough to try and soften my throat and I continue on walking. I can't believe there's only nine of us left though. One more death and the families of the tributes who are still alive get interviewed. But wait, no. Another person died before. Now there's only eight of us. They are doing interviews. I wonder if my mother and Katniss are currently getting interviewed, I wonder what they are going to say.

They must be so proud of me. Even though they tried to deny it, they assumed I wouldn't make it very far as I'm only twelve years old. I hope Buttercup doesn't miss me too much, I don't want his little heart to be broken because I'm not around anymore. I already know I probably won't make it home, after all three of the careers are still alive. Both from two and the boy from one. If I see Rory's picture in the sky tonight and I find out they killed him, I don't think I'll be able to do this anymore.

I place another rock down and realise I'm almost out. How far have I walked? In the distance I see a meadow of sorts so I know I'm almost out of this forest area. Maybe I'm near the lake, or the Cornucopia. I smile at that thought and pick up my pace a bit, I really hate the woods. I break into the opening and breathe in the fresh air that surrounds me. It smells like flowers and grass, not dirt, dead leaves and trees. I watch as a baby squirrel runs across the ground and I allow myself to smile, it's so cute. It stops in its tracks and jerks it's head towards me and watches me with its beady eyes. I begin to slowly walk towards it.

When I get close enough I slowly lower myself to the ground and begin to crawl towards it. It's little nose keeps twitching while watching me. At least he isn't running away, maybe he does want me to pet it. I lean over on my knees and on one of my hands and go to pet it with my other but it scurries off. I sigh and get to my feet and take two steps forward before something falls on me.

I get knocked to the ground and I hear a snapping sound. I roll over and find out I'm wrapped up in a net of sorts and the rope is lying in the distance. It fell from the tree. I try and breathe slowly while I attempt to pull my knife out from my backpack, but the sight of the rope is unnerving. I continue to try and get my knife but I fail every time so I give up and scream. I scream for Rory, Rue and Finch but nobody comes. I start sobbing and their names continue to roll off my tongue, getting quieter and quieter every time.

"Prim!" A voice calls out. I strain my ears to listen as they keep calling my name. A few pairs of footsteps run my way, a couple coming from one direction and the other coming from behind me. As the footsteps get closer I can make out Rory and Rue's voice. Maybe Finch is the other pair. The two of my friends break through the bushes right as something enters my stomach.

I scream out in pain and clutch the thing that's inside me. I blink the tears away from my eyes and make out a pole standing upright. It's a spear. I've been speared. I hear metal attacking metal and then someone makes a choking sound and a cannon goes off. I start screaming again but two voices try and calm me down.

"It's okay Prim- it's okay." Rory says in a shaky voice. The net vibrates around me and after a few seconds it comes loose and gets dragged off me. I turn my head and look at Rue and reach a hand out and carefully wipe away one of her tears.

"Did you find Finch?" I ask, my voice barely audible. Rory shakes his head and releases a sound in between choking and sobbing. I reach out a hand to both of them and they both grab hold of it, Rory clutching it the tightest. My mind wanders back home and I can't even imagine how my family must be feeling. Has Katniss fled the house? Or has she stayed at home with my mother, holding on to her as they both cry.

"If you- make it home, tell my mother and Katniss I love them." I whisper to Rory. He nods his head and shakily lifts our conjoined hands to his mouth and kisses my hand. I look over at the soft grass and the trees that are on the edge of the meadow. The song deep in the meadow pops into my mind and another tear falls down my cheek. Rory notices what I'm looking at and leans down and kisses me. I close my eyes and he pulls away and shakes my slightly. I open my eyes again and look at him.

"Don't do that- if you close them you may never open them again." He says quickly while more tears fall from his eyes.

"If you find Finch- tell her she was a great friend." I whisper to them both. They nod their heads sadly. My stomach throbs with the pain and I move my head up from the ground slightly to look at the pole. The grass under me is covered in my own blood.

"I taught Rue the meadow song." Rory mumbles. I roll my head towards them and smile.

"Can you sing?" I ask quietly. They both smile at me and I watch as they both release a new tear.

"Deep in the meadow, under the willow. A bed of grass, a soft green pillow. Lay down your head, and close your eyes. And when they open, the sun will rise." I watch them carefully and another tear slides down my face. "Here it's safe, and here it's warm. Here the daises guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you." My eyes close and my breaths become shallow as I struggle to get air into my lungs.

"Deep in the meadow, hidden far away. A cloak of green, a moon beam ray. Forget your woes, and let your troubles lay. And when again it's morning, they'll wash away." My mind starts going through all of my memories in a quick sequence, almost like a movie. The last one being Rory's lips against mine. "Here it's safe, and here it's warm. Here the daises guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place-" my mind becomes blank and I can no longer breathe. Just as I allow myself to let go and go back home I just hear Rory finish the song.

"-where I love you."

**A/N: I'm so sorry guys for killing Prim! Don't kill me! But let's be honest, she would never of made it anyways. I really loved writing this story and I hated to finish it so soon, but you and I both know that she wouldn't make it to the very end. I know this is where Rue was supposed to die, but I didn't know how to kill Prim so I just done it like this. Thank you all for joining me on this journey, and I assure you this isn't my last story. I will now focus more on writing my new divergent one, and I may even start another hunger games story. Thank you for all the reviews, favourites and follows. It always made my day. I'll leave the full version if in the meadow below this if you want to read it without the extra writing I added. But, until next time, happy hunger games! And may the odds be forever in your favour.**

**xoxo -jayde **

**_Deep in the meadow, under the willow. A bed of grass, a soft green pillow. Lay down your head, and close your eyes. And when they open, the sun will rise._**

**_Here it's safe, and here it's warm. Here the daises guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you._**

**_Deep in the meadow, hidden far away. A cloak of green, a moon beam ray. Forget your woes, and let your troubles lay. And when again it's morning, they'll wash away._**

**_Here it's safe, and here it's warm. Here the daises guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you._**


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